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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