Write In the Right Republican

I am an 87-year-old woman who has voted in every election since I was old enough to do so.

I have voted at the polls on election day every time except one time when I had to be out of town. That one time, I went to our county courthouse and case my ballot.

I have never early voted and I consider it a privilege to walk into the polling place and cast my ballot.

As I was traveling several highways in Nebraska this spring, 2022, I kept seeing huge signs for Jim Pillen. My thought was that, Wow! Someone really wants him to be elected by spending the huge amount of money that was being spent. Actually, there were six people running for governor on the Republican ticket. The man really giving competition to Pillen was Charles Herbster.

Guess What! Jim Pillen and Gov. Ricketts must have been taking lessons from the Washington, D.C. Democrats. When Herbster became a threat, Pillen and Ricketts ads claimed that several women had come forward to accuse Herbster of improper touching.

This has been used by the Washington, D.C., Democrats even to vilify candidates for the Supreme Court.) Only one woman gave her name and that was Nebraska Senator Julie Slama.

At this time, Herbster and Slama have lawsuits against each other which, the way our court systems work, it may take years to see if either wins against the other.

Meanwhile, nasty TV ads were appearing and character assassination was up front in these ads against Charles Herbster with the clincher being that Herbster had been judging beauty contests all over the world.

It is my understanding that beauty contests want the most pristine and honorable people they can find to judge their beauty contests. The ad made it look like Herbster had been doing something very bad.

It did not end with the TV ads, as there were mailings coming in, sometimes two a day from the Pillen campaign. Friends were complaining and each new mailing had me seeing dollar signs into the millions. I tried to search out what even one mailing was costing but since I live in a rural area, I did not get any satisfactory answers. I am assuming that EVERY registered Republican was receiving these mailings and I could see more millions being spent on the cardboard paper and the postage. How many millions were spent on this primary Republican governor's race? This was a very dirty race, something which should not have happened in Nebraska by Republicans.

I will not be voting for Pillen for Governor after the character assassination he used against Herbster and the fact that he will not debate the Democrat candidate Carol Blood. I will also not be voting for Democrat candidate Carol Blood.

I have watched the Washington, D.C., Democrats doing their best to destroy our country and since Blood is already entrenched in Lincoln as a state senator, I am sure she will vote with the other Democrats. I received a mailing from her and read the entire “newspaper.” Again, all I can see are dollars, taxpayer dollars, being spent at random if she is elected.

The voters approved the Medicaid expansion, (I did not vote for this), and she seems to think that is great, but too many people now are on Medicaid and are not working, but are living off the taxpayers who are working.

When I go to the polls to vote, I will be writing in under Governor, the name of Charles Herbster, and will fill in the circle or box before his name to make sure it is counted.

I have been a life-long registered Republican, I have voted in every election, worked at the polls, counting votes, and carrying the ballots. I have served as Holt County Republican Chairman more than once, served as President of the Holt County Republican Woman and Nebraska Federation of Republican Women. I am really heartbroken to think that Republicans have stooped to the low of Democrats in our primary election.

I am asking each of you to think about who you will be voting for and why you will vote for those persons. This is still a free country, although the voting machines, and we do have one in our courthouse and I understand they are in most of the courthouses, make it very easy to manipulate votes.

Shirley Peterson, Atkinson, NE