Democratic candidate for governor Carol Blood has chosen Hyannis-area rancher and former state senator Al Davis to be her running mate.
Blood, a term-limited state senator, announced her pick on Sunday.
Davis was a Republican when he won election in the 43rd District in 2012 and when he lost to Tom Brewer of Gordon in 2016 after facing negative ad campaigns on issues he had clashed over with Gov. Pete Ricketts
Blood says Davis “brings exceptional experience to the table” with a background in agriculture as well as environmental and tax issues.
Davis was known in the Legislature for working to lower property taxes, especially for farmers and ranchers, and for legislation that lets the state lease a single-engine air tanker for a faster response to wildfires in the western third of the state.
He was a founding member of the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska and for the last 2 years has been a lobbyist for the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club.
Davis has also been a school board member and an advisor or board member for the Nebraska Arts Council, Voices for Children, the Organization for Competitive Markets, and the tax-focused OpenSky Policy Institute think tank.
Blood and Davis face a big challenge regardless of which of the 5 Republicans running gets their party’s nomination.
Not only does the GOP have a big margin in registrations, Nebraska hasn’t elected a Democrat governor since Ben Nelson in the 1990s.