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.
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.
Ricketts endorsed Brooks’ opponent, Republican Mike Flood, who won the 2022 election.
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.”
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.
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.”
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.
