Free Republic

Stenberg left this piquant comment on Jenner's Instagram post: "When you appropriate black features and culture but fail to use your position of power to help black Americans by directing attention towards your wigs instead of police brutality or racism," followed by the hashtag "white girls do it better." Ouch.

As Republicans sought to interpret Deb Fischer’s upset victory in Tuesday’s Nebraska Senate primary and what it portends for the 2012 elections, Sen. Mike Johanns (R) told Roll Call that the third-party groups who spent heavily to boost Don Stenberg are responsible for his last-place finish. Johanns, a former Nebraska governor, said the Club for Growth’s television ad campaign that targeted frontrunner Jon Bruning, the state attorney general, was “tone deaf” and left Nebraska GOP primary voters with an overwhelmingly negative impression of Stenberg, the state treasurer. Johanns referred to Stenberg as a “true blue conservative” who has a solid...

OMAHA, Neb. - The Associated Press has projected Deb Fischer as the winner of the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. Most of the evening, Jon Bruning maintained a lead over Fischer; however, during the 9 p.m. hour, the lead switched in favor of Fischer. Just under 6,000 votes separated the top two candidates when the Associated Press called the race.

The New York Times reported last week that Republican leaders in the Senate are trying to recruit Gov. Dave Heineman to run against conservative Don Stenberg in the Republican primary race for U.S. Senate in Nebraska. This recruitment effort is troubling for several reasons. First, it threatens Don Stenberg, a proven conservative who is already leading incumbent U.S. Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) in the polls. Gov. Heineman is a good guy, but by his own admission his heart is not in this race, and he's definitely no Don Stenberg. In fact, the Cato Institute recently gave Heineman a "C" grade...

Republican Senate candidate Don Stenberg on Tuesday got the endorsement he wanted. South Carolina Sen. Jim DeMint, sometimes described as a kingmaker for candidates seeking conservative support, said Stenberg was "a lifelong conservative with the principles, integrity and courage needed to stand up to the big spenders in both political parties in Washington." Stenberg is "not only the strongest conservative in the race, but we also believe he's the most electable," DeMint said in a statement issued through his Senate Conservatives Fund website.

Now, though, there are signs that Bruning’s coronation is on hold — big time. Nebraska political observers cite an abrasive personal style that has rubbed many Republicans the wrong way, and Bruning has suffered from a series of unhelpful headlines and gaffes on the campaign trail. Bruning has compared welfare recipients to scavenging raccoons, been criticized for buying property with business executives whose case he intervened in as attorney general, and stood by embattled former Warren Buffett heir apparent David Sokol, even as Sokol resigned from his job earlier this year amid a scandal involving his personal investments. “It’s been...

Don Stenberg lit a fire under his Senate campaign last week. First came a declaration of conservative principles that disassociated him from the Republican record in Washington and effectively erased any image of him as a rubber stamp for President Bush. Next, Stenberg sent letters to 525 Republican leaders and activists throughout the state addressing the question of “electability” that has been used against him. Stenberg lost an earlier challenge to Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson in 2000. However, it was “the closest U.S. Senate race in Nebraska history,” Stenberg wrote members of the GOP’s governing state central committee, delegates to...

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Don Stenberg blamed Democrats Tuesday for liberal judges, gay marriages, abortion and other social ills, but he reserved his harshest criticism for fellow Republicans in Washington. Former Nebraska attorney general and now an official Senata candidate Don Stenberg Stenberg blamed Republicans in the nation's capital - including President Bush - for the growing federal budget deficit, for "confused" border policies and for increasing federal control over local education. "Republicans in Washington need to be reminded why they were sent there in the first place," Stenberg said as he kicked off a 12-city tour of the state....