Posted on 04/30/2005 12:20:39 PM PDT by tricky_k_1972
Congressman Tom Osborne said Saturday that he plans to seek the Republican nomination for governor instead of a fourth term in Congress.
Osborne made the announcement in his hometown at Hastings College, his alma mater.
"I've got more miles behind me than I've got in front of me," Osborne said. "When you reach that point, where you have some good years left you want to make sure you use those years wisely."
Osborne, 68, has hinted about seeking the GOP gubernatorial nomination for months.
Governor Dave Heineman and Omaha businessman David Nabity, both Republicans, have already announced that they will seek the nomination.
While there are no announced Democratic candidates, several names have been tossed into the rumor mill. Those include state Senators Chris Beutler of Lincoln, Matt Connealy of Decatur and Pat Bourne of Omaha, University of Nebraska Regent Chuck Hassebrook of Lyons and Stormy Dean of Ralston, the 2002 nominee who lost to Republican Mike Johanns.
Osborne has parlayed his enormous popularity as the former University of Nebraska football coach into a political career.
Osborne, who won three national titles in four years before retiring after the 1997 season, got 82 percent of the vote in his first run for Congress in 2000, 93 percent in his re-election bid in 2002 and 87 percent last year.
Things in the GOP fold got a bit prickly earlier this month when U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel endorsed Heineman for governor. Hagel downplayed the significance of the endorsement, however, saying he did so only because Heineman was an incumbent running for the office.
Heineman was lieutenant governor until Republican Governor Mike Johanns was appointed as U.S. Agriculture Secretary earlier this year.
well so long as the Democrats don't figure out the option between now and then....errr ummmm :)
Tom Osborne is going to be governor, and it would be a waste of money to even bother trying to do something about it.
The guys I know from Nebraska think he walks on water and is god on earth.
Hagel made a stupid mistake, and even he realizes it, and is backtracking.
I wonder what positions he will appoint Lawrence Phillips and Christian Peters to?
Haven't you heard, were West Coast offence now, all our troubles are over. Ya, nothing but bliss from now on. No troubles here, (crap).
The democrats who ran against him in his congression races wouldn't dare say one bad word about him (though one of them was actually a distant relative of his).
If you listened to his former opponents, you get 2 ideas.
One, is that they are in awe of him, and 2, they sound like they want to vote for him.
He's not going to lose and all the money if the world couldn't make those folks vote him out, its out of (misguided) decency he doesn't eradicate the democratic party in that state.
He should run against Hagel.
Thank God it's not Ozzie.
I agree, I even like Ben Nelson better than Hagel. At lest Neloson is a Democrat pretending to be a Republican.
Didn't Hagel (bolton blocker) come out in support of Heineman for governor recently?
He's a possible to run against Nelson for Senate.
"Hagel made a stupid mistake, and even he realizes it, and is backtracking."
Hagel should just be happy that Osbourne didn't decide to stay in congress and run against Hagel in the primary in 2008. Then, if Nelson switches parties, Nebraska could have 2 Republican senators.
duh...didn't read the entire article...oh well, Hagel is a knob and will be trying to downplay his endorsement of Heineman (already is)...what a dork...too bad Osbone is not running against Hagel for senate...
what mistake did Hagel make that has anything to do with Osborne running for Gov?
I thought you were talking about Ozzy.............
Never mind
You beat me to it. Let's see what Dim spot we can get Ozzie into. LOL
Ya, sucks to be him. That didn't win him any friends in the party or in Nebraska. Everyone knew Osborne was going to run for Governor, so when Hagel announced he cut his fellow 'pub off at the knees, bad form.
I don't think Heineman will quit, he had said he would before, but when actually became Governor after Johanns went to be AG Sec he sort of changed his mind. I still think Osborne will likely win the Governorship, but it might get nasty, although I hope not.
What would be so bad with him being a governor?
I can just hear his innauguration speach now:
"You're all my constituents and I love you very much, but you're all F***in' Nuts! Sharon! Who turned out the lights!?!"
Wrong Osborn? Never mind.
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