One day after Gov. Dave Heineman said he would not run for Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson’s seat in 2012, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning announced on Nov. 5 that he would. And he has formed an exploratory committee to begin raising funds. Both Heineman and Bruning won landslide reelection bids on Nov. 2. Nelson won a sweeping bid for reelection in 2006, garnering 64 percent of the vote over Republican challenger Pete Ricketts, son of the founder of TD Ameritrade. A poll commissioned by the Nebraska Republican Party and released Nov. 9 shows Nelson trailing Bruning by 15 percent. Republicans represented 56 percent of those polled, while about 48 percent of registered voters in the state are registered Republicans.
Heineman out, Bruning in for 2012 Senate race
Updated