Nebraska
Chris Backemeyer runs in Nebraska’s 1st District Democratic U.S. House primary
LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner) – Democrats have another candidate in eastern Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District primary.
Former U.S. State Department diplomat Chris Backemeyer will face renewable energy advocate Eric Moyer in the Democratic primary. Both are vying to challenge Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood.
“Frankly, I see our country is just going really in the wrong direction,” said Backemeyer.
Backemeyer has worked for the State Department for 20 years in Washington, D.C., with a focus on counterterrorism, economic policy and the Middle East. He moved back to Lincoln last month after accepting a buyout from the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, which thinned out the ranks of the federal bureaucracy in the early days of the second Trump administration.
He said he felt there was “no mission or purpose left” in working for the State Department after the DOGE cuts, and that serving in Congress was the only way to push back against Trump’s approach to governing. Backmeyer’s pitch to voters is a moderate focus on affordability, reasserting congressional authority over tariffs and addressing rising health care prices and the national debt.
“Both parties are moving in opposite directions … I think there’s a lot of people in the middle that just want good … middle-of-the-road policies that will solve the problems that they see on a day-to-day basis,” Backemyer said.
Whoever emerges from the Democratic primary will most likely face Flood, who as yet has no GOP opponent and has won his past two elections by 20 and 16 percentage points, in a seat considered safely Republican by the nonpartisan Center for Politics, The Cook Political Report and Inside Elections.
The 1st District comprises 12 Nebraska counties, including heavily Democratic Lancaster County, which is often drowned out by the region’s more conservative rural areas.
Backemeyer said while it will be a “tough race,” the district being considered a safe seat isn’t a good reason not to “get into the fight.” He pointed to his work at the State Department as an example of his being able to work with people regardless of political differences.
One of Backemeyer’s areas of emphasis as a diplomat was Iran. He was a senior State Department negotiator for Obama’s Iran nuclear deal in 2015. During Trump’s first term, He was replaced by Andrew L. Peek in 2017 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iranian Affairs and moved to a new role. Trump withdrew from the nuclear agreement in 2018.
Backemeyer was also a national security advisor to former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Daniel Bass, a spokesperson for the Flood campaign, criticized his work with former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris. He said Backemeyer has “spent more of his life in Washington than in Nebraska, so it’s no surprise that he was inspired to run by coastal Democrat wins this week.”
“Meanwhile, Mike Flood has fought for Nebraskans,” Bass said. “To represent us, you have to be one of us.”
During Flood’s Lincoln town hall in August, Backemeyer asked Flood a question: “Who do you work for?” referring to his vote on Trump’s “big beautiful bill.” He used it as a part of his campaign lunch video. The Flood campaign pointed out that Backemeyer was still living in D.C. at the time.
Moyer, asked about a new opponent, said the entrance of another Democratic candidate in the race validates that there is “no such thing as a safe congressional seat when Donald Trump’s failed policies are on the ballot.”
“My campaign is building momentum throughout the district, and a competitive primary will serve the people of Nebraska well,” Moyer said.
Backemeyer said a competitive Democratic primary will only make the Democratic nominee stronger. He said he respects Moyer, but argues his experience in Washington prepares him for Congress.
“I’ve been working on some of the country’s most difficult national security challenges … I’ve briefed presidents and vice presidents and secretaries of state. I think I have the ability to hit the ground running,” said Backemeyer.
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LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.
Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.
Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.
Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.
Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.
The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.
Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.
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CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.
These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.
It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.
There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.
CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.
Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.
In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.
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This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16
We need to do our homework on Nebraska canal plan
Re: “Colorado’s water war with Nebraska comes to a head,” Sept. 21 news story
Farming in northeastern Colorado has never been easy, and it is getting harder. Markets are tough, input costs are up, and young people are leaving. What keeps communities in Northeastern Colorado going is agriculture, the water, the ground, and the community that ties everything together. The proposed Perkins County Canal — to carry South Platte River water into Nebraska — threatens all of it.
When you take water off farmland, the damage does not stop in crop yields. Equipment dealers, elevators, local banks, and businesses all feel it. Schools and roads will suffer. We have seen what happens to towns that lose their agricultural base, and we cannot let that happen again without a real fight.
That fight needs to be a regional one. I am asking communities across northeastern Colorado to come together and hire an independent economic consultant to assess the true local impact of this project (acres affected, jobs at risk, income lost, tax base eroded).
The Corps of Engineers will do its own analysis, but we need our own numbers. If their conclusions do not match what our communities are actually facing, we need the documentation to say so and demand they take another look.
Rural communities have always figured out how to help each other when it counts. This is one of those times. I urge local officials, water boards, farm bureaus, and civic leaders to set aside any differences and work together on this. The permit process will not wait, and neither can we.
Kimberly L. Kinnison, Ovid
Don’t let our children be ‘policy pawns’
Re: “District accused of violating Title IX,” March 14 news story
The Trump administration seems intent on the persecution of transgender children, excluding them from bathrooms, sports and school activities. Refusing to allow transgender children to participate in school in a manner consistent with their gender identity promotes the exclusion of particularly vulnerable children.
Participation in sports, access to bathrooms in which they feel comfortable, and full inclusion are critical components of healthy development for all children.
Some children are taller, faster, or stronger, have been training with private coaches or attending schools with better facilities, but the requirement of biological uniformity applies only to transgender children.
Exclusion harms children. Is this in dispute? Our children are not political pawns.
Jane Cates, Jefferson County
Don’t forget the Denver Chamber Music Festival
Re: “Classical blast,” March 15 feature story
Thanks to Ray Rinaldi for a terrific article about classical music festivals in the mountains this summer. I’d like to add one, and it’s right here in town: the Denver Chamber Music Festival from June 5 to June 13. World-class musicians, including the amazing classical/bluegrass violinist Tessa Lark, our first composer in residence, and local favorites Stephanie Cheng and Margaret Dyer Harris, and the members of the Colorado Cello Quartet.
All performances are at the Newman Center for the Performing Arts; tickets available at denverchambermusicfestival.org. Avoid Interstate 70 and enjoy phenomenal music in Denver!
Alix Corboy, Denver
Editor’s note: Corboy is executive director of the Denver Chamber Music Festival
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