MAGA Senator Crosses Party Lines to Back Wife
The GOP senator from Nebraska endorsed his Democratic wife for a key position overseeing the state’s largest public university.
Sen. Pete Ricketts/X
A Trump-aligned senator from Nebraska is going against his party to endorse his Democratic wife for state office.
Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, 61, is supporting his wife, Susanne Shore, in her bid for an Omaha-based seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents, according to the Nebraska Examiner.
Shore, also 61, served as the first lady of Nebraska during Rickett’s two terms as the state’s 40th governor from 2015 to 2023.
The couple, who have been married for 28 years, frequently disagree on politics.
WASHINGTON, DC UNITED STATES- DECEMBER 9: Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and his wife Susanne Shore participate in a ceremonial swearing in ceremony with Vice President Kamala Harris at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, DC on December 9, 2024. (Photo by Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Anadolu/Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images
In 2016, as Nebraska’s first lady, Shore endorsed Hillary Clinton for the presidency, whereas Ricketts endorsed Trump. Shore donated $4,700 to Clinton’s campaign and another $1,000 to the Hillary Victory Fund, according to the Lincoln Star Journal.
Shore also supported Joe Biden in 2020 and former Nebraska senator Patty Pansing Brooks in a 2022 bid for an open seat in the U.S. House.
“During my time as your first lady, one legislator has proven that she will always use her voice to fight for not only those kids and their families, but for all Nebraskans—that’s Patty Pansing Brooks,” Shore said in a social media video.
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Ricketts endorsed Brooks’ opponent, Republican Mike Flood, who won the 2022 election.
Before serving as a Republican senator for Nebraska, Ricketts served two terms as the state's governor from 2015 to 2023.
Bill Clark/Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Shore told the Nebraska Examiner she wants to help the university set and adhere to goals for the future, following the example of schools like Arizona State University and Purdue University to improve in areas such as online learning and student support. She is running in a special election against five other Democrats, after former regent Elizabeth O’Connor resigned following a DUI crash.
“We need leaders who are thinking in that direction,” Shore told the outlet. “That takes us back to being a 21st-century institution where we are doing the forward thinking.”
LINCOLN, NE - MARCH 16: A general view of the exterior of the Nebraska Coliseum on the campus of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on March 16, 2024 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by David Madison/Getty Images)
David Madison/David Madison/Getty Images
Ricketts has consistently supported President Donald Trump throughout his second administration.
Last month, the senator praised Trump’s first year in office, saying in an address that “President Trump and Senate Republicans are getting America back on track.”
“We’re restoring peace through strength,” Ricketts said. “I am working with President Trump to deliver for Nebraskans.”
However, Ricketts has defied his party to criticize the president on occasion.
President Donald J Trump speaks to reporters before signing an Executive Order about IndyCar races in the District of Columbia this summer for America's 250th birthday, in the Oval Office at the White House on Friday Jan. 30, 2026, in Washington, DC.
The Washington Post/The Washington Post via Getty Im
The Nebraska lawmaker called out the president earlier this month and asked him to apologize after he posted a racist video to Truth Social depicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, which the White House downplayed as just a “Lion King video.”
“Even if this was a Lion King meme, a reasonable person sees the racist context to this,” Ricketts wrote on X. “The White House should do what anyone does when they make a mistake: remove this and apologize.”
Ricketts called on the president to apologize for posting the racist video.
Sen. Pete Ricketts/X
The senator is the eldest son of Joe Ricketts, the billionaire founder of the financial trading platform TD Ameritrade, which was acquired by Charles Schwab in a $26 billion deal that closed in 2020.
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