Elections 2022 Incumbent
Republican governor
Pete Ricketts was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. Pillen won the gubernatorial election by a 23-point margin. Nebraska's primary elections were held on May 10. Pillen won the Republican nomination, while
state senator Carol Blood won the
Democratic nomination. The race took on increased importance in October 2022, when U.S. senator
Ben Sasse announced he would resign and Ricketts said he would allow the winner of the 2022 gubernatorial election to appoint Sasse's replacement. Pillen appointed Ricketts to replace Sasse.
Tenure and
Tom Brewer look on In October 2023, Pillen drew criticism when responding to reporting about dangerously high levels of
nitrates at his farms. Reporter Yanqi Xu had written that 16 Pillen farms had nitrate levels of at least 50 parts per million, five times the level considered safe to drink. Claiming not to have read Xu's article, he said: "all you've got to do is look at the author. Author's from Communist China—what more do you need to know?" The
Asian American Journalists Association issued a statement condemning Pillen's remarks, writing, "Xu, an investigative reporter who grew up in China, deserves to do her job without being judged because of her nationality." After announcing his intent to do so in his closing address to the 108th Legislature at its April adjournment, Pillen called a special session of the legislature in late July to address property taxes. A number of state senators expressed frustration at the call for a special session and with the proposals presented, some of which were introduced at Pillen's request. On August 19, 2025, Pillen and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Kristi Noem announced that an
immigration detention center called
Cornhusker Clink would be established in
McCook, Nebraska. The facility is planned to include 280 beds and will be in the
Work Ethic Camp, a minimum-security prison labor camp in McCook. Development came after the
Trump administration pushed other immigration detention centers, such as
Alligator Alcatraz. The announcement immediately drew criticism from many Nebraska lawmakers and the Nebraska
ACLU. Pillen was criticized for repeatedly referring to
liberals as "libtards" during a January 20, 2026, telephone town hall. He did not respond to media inquiries about his use of the
pejorative. == Personal life ==