Nonpartisan Cohen submits signatures seeking Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District ballot

LINCOLN — A second registered nonpartisan submitted signatures Thursday seeking to qualify as an independent candidate for one of Nebraska’s congressional races this fall ahead of Monday’s deadline.

The Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office confirmed that Mark Cohen of Lemoyne submitted about 3,680 signatures in his bid for Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District. State law mandates at least 2,000 valid signatures from voters in the district to appear on the ballot. 

Cohen, a former Air Force judge advocate and former special assistant U.S. attorney for Nebraska, describes himself as a populist. Cohen’s news release says he is the “only candidate” who could defeat 10-term incumbent U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., this year.

“The fact is, the Democrat brand won’t fly here, because policies popular in New York and San Francisco don’t resonate with rural Nebraskans,” Cohen said. “The numbers don’t add up.”

Becky Kelly Stille of South Sioux City, the Democratic nominee to challenge Smith this year, told the Nebraska Examiner on Thursday that she and Cohen “have the same goal, which is to make life better for ALL Nebraskans.”

“Moderate Democrat or Independent, we have different perspectives, but we all really want the same things, and I wish him the best of luck,” Stille said in an email.

Smith’s campaign had no immediate comment by the time of publication. In November, a campaign spokesperson said Smith’s “conservative record reflects the priorities” of his district.

Democratic Party won’t back Cohen

Nebraska Democratic Party officials disagree with Cohen’s view of their chances in the 3rd District and continue to back Stille. That tactic differs from the party’s support for registered nonpartisan Dan Osborn to challenge U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, who is running for his first six-year term. He won a two-year term in 2024 after being appointed to the seat in 2023.

Election officials certified Osborn’s petitions earlier this month, and Democrat Cindy Burbank dropped out to give Osborn a clearer faceoff with Ricketts. As of last week, Legal Marijuana NOW nominee Mike Marvin of Omaha was still on the ballot for Senate.

The Nebraska Democratic Party is being sued by the Democrat who lost to Burbank seeking to force the party to find a replacement. A hearing on that case is set for early next week.

Stille faces an even stiffer uphill climb in her district than Osborn does statewide based on recent election results, as Smith’s congressional district is one of the most conservative in the nation. It is much more conservative than Nebraska’s other two congressional districts.

President Donald Trump won Nebraska statewide with 59.3% of the vote in 2024 and 58.2% in 2020, for example. He won his largest share of votes in the sprawling rural 3rd Congressional District, earning 76% of the district’s voters in 2024 and 75.4% in 2020.

Meanwhile, Smith won by larger margins than Trump, with 80.4% of the vote in 2024 and 78.5% in 2020. Smith won with 78.3% of the vote in 2022 over David Else of Overton, who was then the Democratic nominee against Smith. Else is now the 2026 Legal Marijuana NOW nominee.

The 3rd Congressional District is also what helped U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., win reelection in 2024 over Osborn. He won Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District based in Omaha, with 56.3% of the vote, and narrowly won the 1st Congressional District in the eastern part of the state, with 50.6% of the vote.

However, Fischer received 67.1% of the vote in the 3rd Congressional District. She won statewide with 53.3% of the vote over Osborn.

Ricketts and the Nebraska Republican Party have said Osborn’s Democratic support will again spell defeat for him this November.

The Nebraska Democratic Party did not respond to a request for comment on Cohen, but on Wednesday, Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said at a news conference that if the party has to support Osborn this cycle as a way to respond to Trump and “so we can have more balance in the U.S. Senate, fine by us.”

“Ninety-eight percent of the candidates that we are supporting this cycle are proud, partisan Democrats,” Kleeb said. “And we are absolutely comfortable with that.”

‘A winning coalition’

The last Democrat to be elected to Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District was U.S. Rep. Lawrence Brock of Wakefield in 1958. He unseated a Republican but did not win reelection. 

Cohen thinks he could be the difference and chart a new path in the 3rd Congressional District.

“We’ve got Reagan and McCain Republicans who don’t recognize their own party. We’ve got Democrats sick of the clown show and hungry for a viable alternative. And we’ve got independents who are tired of a two-party system that rewards extremism while nothing gets done in Washington,” Cohen said. “That’s a winning coalition. That’s how we take back Nebraska.”

If enough signatures are verified, Cohen would join the 3rd Congressional District ballot with Smith, Stille and Else.

Registered nonpartisan Macey Budke of North Platte, who started a similar petition as Cohen, pulled back earlier this month. Instead, she plans to be a write-in candidate. The deadline to do so is mid-October.

Other nonpartisan candidates

In addition to Osborn, Cohen and Budke, two other registered nonpartisans mounted petition drives for federal races: Austin Ahlman of Norfolk, who announced an end to his drive for Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District early, citing family health issues, and Christopher J. Feurbach of Omaha, who filed for the 2nd Congressional District.

Nebraska has seen a flood of nonpartisan candidates this cycle unlike any before, with Ahlman specifically naming Osborn as a reason why and that he was leaning into the “Osborn effect.”

State Democratic Party leaders were overtly critical of Ahlman when he launched a petition drive for the 1st Congressional District, which features U.S. Rep. Mike Flood of Norfolk, a Republican, Democrat Chris Backemeyer of Lincoln and Libertarian Nik Sandman. 

One party leader, who is a member of the Democratic National Committee, called Osborn “an outlier, not a way forward for every candidate” in a post on X criticizing Ahlman. In another tweet, she described Ahlman as “an underhanded weasel” for not belonging to a party. 

In contrast, Burbank had endorsed Ahlman and was campaigning for him.

Former State Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha filed July 13 to launch a petition drive to qualify for the race for Nebraska governor against Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, former Democratic state Sen. Lynne Walz of Fremont and Legal Marijuana NOW’s Rick Beard of Omaha. 

Lindstrom has not made any public statements since launching petitions but has filed a state campaign finance disclosure committee, a requirement when a candidate raises or spends more than $5,000. He has not returned multiple calls seeking an update on his campaign.

The deadline for any candidate to submit signatures seeking ballot access for partisan races is 5 p.m. Monday. The deadline for nonpartisan races, such as the Legislature, is 5 p.m. Sept. 1.