Strommen Hitting Stride in 47th District Campaign

Traveling around the Cheyenne County and panhandle region, you can see that State Senate District 47 candidate, Paul Strommen's campaign season is in full swing, with campaign signs of all sizes dotting front lawns and roadway intersections. Strommen is running to represent District 47 in the Nebraska State Senate, a seat currently held by Steve Erdman of Bayard, who is no longer eligible for office due to term limits. The 47th District has approximately 40,000 residents.

Strommen's opponent in the election is Larry Bolinger of Alliance. Bolinger ran for Attorney General on the Legal Marijuana Now Party, and received 188,648 votes, the highest percentage for a statewide Nebraska candidate running outside of the major two parties in 86 years. Bolinger is well-known in Alliance and the northern areas of the 47th District, and over the past month Strommen has been concentrating on meet-and-greet events in places like Hemingford, Morrill, Chappell and Ogallala.

Strommen has been focusing his message on economic development, affordable housing and reducing taxes, and has been able to hear the concerns of citizens in the district ranging from the larger cities like Sidney to the small towns like Hemingford. Strommen said, "Last night we were in Arthur, and Arthur County according to the 2020 census is the third smallest county in Nebraska and the seventh smallest county in the United States. For the people there, their issues are just as important as the issues of people in Sidney or Ogallala. Just because of their size, it doesn't make their concerns and problems any less important."

Strommen said, "What I've identified is there are three big issues in our area, and then other problems that stem from the basic problems. The three issues that are most important are economic development, housing costs and property taxes. Then there are a bunch of other problems, like a lack of healthcare services, daycare services, drug treatment programs, crime and violence, and child advocacy issues that all come as consequences of the three basic problems. One town might have more of a problem with a particular issue than another town, but we all generally have the same concerns."

Strommen continued, "I've been trying to focus on issues that we have some control of locally during my campaign. Although there is a lot of stress and anxiety over national issues, like the southern border, that's really not something that I can affect in my position as a State Senator. From a state legislator standpoint, it's more about creating relationships and using influence to help address the needs of the citizens I represent. No one person can do this on their own, and they need to have great working relationships and alliances with other legislators, from both parties, if they are going to be effective. You may need help from people on the other side, or you may need help from people you wouldn't think would be on board with a certain issue, but fundamentally people want to help out and we need to find ways of working together for everyone's benefit. I've been surprised with the number of people who are involved in their communities, and with the amount of people I would say are "hyper-involved". These people are so important to their communities as they have a great sense of what's important and serves the local community best, and they know how to go out and get it done. They have a great understanding of what they can and cannot control, and they keep their focus on what they can do, and do a great job of keeping their communities great."

Strommen will be up in Hyaniss and Grant County next week, on Friday morning he plans on being in Paxton. "We're in the second largest district in the state, size-wise, which goes through nine counties. It's an extremely large geographical area with all kinds of small towns with common and unique concerns.

Strommen has been working hard getting his message out, working with his campaign team and knocking on doors. "There are no "days off" in this, I was knocking on doors in Ogallala the other day, meeting people in Arthur yesterday and I still have my regular job to do, so it's a lot of work. But I get to meet great people and talk with people. I had some great pizza at Village Pizza in Hemingford the other day. so, it's a lot of work, but it's rewarding and I look forward to meeting more and more people as the weather turns and we start hitting Fair season."