Update: Lindstrom reports $16,049.50 spent in 2026 NE gubernatorial campaign

OMAHA — Former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha twice petitioned this summer for the 2026 ballot for Nebraska governor. In an amended report Friday, he said he paid $16,000 for signature gathering.

Lindstrom initially reported shortly after noon Thursday, three days late, that he’d spent only $49.50 in 2026 for governor. By 5:20 p.m. Friday, he updated to add $16,000 for signature gathering. Because Lindstrom paid the amount himself Aug. 2, for work beginning July 28, it’s an “in-kind” contribution and expenditure, so it appears on both sides of the spreadsheet.

He filed a nonpartisan bid for Nebraska governor on July 13 and turned in 5,765 signatures Aug. 3. His amended report says Lindstrom personally paid $16,000 to Cerberus Strategies, an Omaha-based political firm led by Benjamin Onkka and Crystal Rhoades, the elected clerk of the Douglas County District Court and a former commissioner on the Nebraska Public Service Commission.

Rhoades came in third in the Democratic primary for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District this year. Lindstrom ran in the GOP primary for the 2nd District until January. He then left the Republican Party and switched his registration to nonpartisan shortly after.

Lindstrom said Friday night he had some volunteer circulators and that Cerberus helped him in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District. Another firm, On The Ballot, which he saw as more conservative, helped Lindstrom in the 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts. However, the updated campaign disclosure report does not list those expenditures.

“No money was ever put into the campaign to send money to On The Ballot,” Lindstrom told the Nebraska Examiner. “It was done outside of a campaign account.”

Lindstrom said he’s still trying to figure out exactly who donated money, who didn’t and how much On The Ballot got paid. He said he doesn’t know and had been referred by different political consultants to use On The Ballot.

“Our signatures were independent of the other firms,” Rhoades said in a text. She added that Cerberus’ support was to help prevent Pillen from getting reelected.

Nonpartisan petition bid

On Aug. 14, Lindstrom’s nonpartisan bid fell flat as 2,407 signatures were rejected. Many of those were flagged as possibly fraudulent, the largest portion in Lancaster County. He needed 4,000 valid signatures.

Two new political parties also petitioned to get on the ballot — the Nebraska Working People Party and America First Party — and Lindstrom on Sept. 1 became America First’s gubernatorial nominee. In that effort, he needed just 25 signatures from new party members.

Lindstrom now faces Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, former Democratic state Sen. Lynne Walz and Legal Marijuana NOW’s Rick Beard. Each has selected a running mate. A campaign disclosure committee is required after a candidate raises or spends $5,000. 

The latest reporting period was June 17 through Sept. 29, the first for the general election.

In that period, including Lindstrom’s update, gubernatorial candidates reported the following:

• Pillen: $2.4 million raised, $4.4 million spent and $7.5 million cash on hand.
• Walz: $2.2 million raised, $2 million spent and $860,464.44 cash on hand.
• Lindstrom: $28,154.90 raised, $16,049.50 spent and $12,105.40 cash on hand.
• Beard: No campaign filings (less than $5,000 raised or $5,000 spent).

Between Jan. 1, 2025, and Sept. 29, Pillen and Walz have raised a combined $14.7 million and spent $9.9 million. More than 70% of that is from Pillen’s campaign. The 2026 election is already the third most expensive governor’s race in state history and appears on track to take the second-highest spot. For just general election spending alone, 2026 is the most expensive.

‘Getting clarification’

The 2022 GOP primary, which featured Pillen, Lindstrom, Falls City agribusinessman Charles Herbster and six other Republicans, exceeded $26 million in funds raised and $25 million in funds spent. Pillen would go on to spend $2 million in the general election. Then-state Sen. Carol Blood, a Democrat, spent $635,000 in the whole 2026 election.

The Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission, which is similar to the Federal Election Commission for federal candidates, confirmed that virtually all spending toward the goal of being elected is considered a campaign expense. That includes signature gathering.

“There are a couple specific exceptions in statute, but this is not one of them,” NADC deputy director David Hunter said in an email to the Nebraska Examiner.

He added: “We have had a few candidates and committees lately that are unaware certain expenses like that should be reported as campaign expenditures, so we may need to better publicize that these types of expenses would qualify. I imagine that the Lindstrom campaign will report them when we let them know. That filing and others are currently being reviewed.”

Lindstrom told the Examiner at about 10 a.m. Friday: “I’m currently getting clarification from the NADC on what I need to update on my form.”

Lincoln petition circulators

On The Ballot also ran the Lincoln petition effort this summer to amend the Lincoln City Charter. The Good Government Lincoln campaign at first failed due to significant allegations of fraud. The Lincoln petitions restarted and supporters qualified for the Nov. 3 ballot.

A total of seven circulators have been arrested who allegedly gathered fraudulent signatures on the Lincoln effort. A few of those circulators also worked on Lindstrom’s campaign.

State and county election officials are now considering banning paying per signature, a method Lindstrom voted in favor of legalizing in 2015 after a seven-year ban. In September, Lindstrom said he learned firsthand how a pay-per-signature-collected system could backfire.

Good Government Lincoln spent $390,000 on signature gathering via Vanguard Field Strategies. Vanguard subcontracted work to On The Ballot on June 8, July 1 and July 27, each time at $108,000.

Hunter said all campaign statements that come into the NADC are thoroughly reviewed. They are normally spot-checked in the order received and later reviewed more thoroughly. He said some filings could still be coming in for the Oct. 5 due date as they only need to be U.S. Postal Service postmarked by the due date. Agency staff then enter those filings.

There are two more state reporting periods for Nebraska’s 2026 general election: Sept. 30 through Oct. 19 (due Oct. 26) and Oct. 20 through Dec. 31 (due Jan. 12).