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Another Democrat has entered the race for Nebraska secretary of state.
Fremont attorney Janet Stewart, 60, says she is in the process of putting together a campaign, talking to friends and potential supporters.
“I think my life experiences and my past work experiences are best qualified for this job, and it’s the one I’m most interested in,” said Stewart, who expects to formally announce her campaign later this year.
Stewart is the second Democrat to get into the race. Kris Pierce, a political consultant in Omaha, announced his candidacy earlier this week. The two must now battle each other for their party’s nomination in the May 11 primary.
The secretary of state is Nebraska’s chief election officer. The office also is responsible for managing state and business records and promoting the state to foreign nations.
The winner of the Democratic primary is expected to run against Republican John Gale, who announced his third campaign for the office earlier this year. A former North Platte attorney, Gale was appointed to the office in 2000 by then-Gov. Mike Johanns.
This would be Stewart’s second bid for public office. In 2004, she ran for the Democratic nomination in the 1st Congressional District. She garnered 33 percent of the vote in a four-way race, coming in second to Democrat Matt Connealy.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Republican, defeated Connealy that fall.
Stewart lived most of her life in Omaha, getting her undergraduate degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and her law degree at Creighton University.
She worked for the Nebraska Commission on Industrial Relations for five years after law school. In 1980, she joined Mutual of Omaha. She worked for that company for 26 years, overseeing litigation in 32 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.
About three years ago, Stewart moved to Fremont to work with her husband, who is also an attorney.
Stewart said she plans to take time in the coming months to meet with county election officials around the state to get their perspectives on elections and any changes they would like to see in the Secretary of State’s Office.
“I think it’s very difficult to make specific recommendations without being in the office and seeing the way it works,” she said.
Contact the writer:
444-1309, robynn.tysver@owh.com
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