A church worker in Columbus, a hospital chaplain from Alliance and a Tea Party supporter from Omaha all have one thing in common this election year.
The trio — along with numerous others — want to unseat Nebraska’s three sitting Republican congressmen: U.S. Reps. Lee Terry, 48, of Omaha, Jeff Fortenberry, 49, of Lincoln and Adrian Smith, 39, of Gering.
Monday was the deadline for candidates to file.
The most competitive races are in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, where three candidates are vying to topple Terry.
His biggest threat appears to be Democrat Tom White, 56, a state senator who has vowed to raise a $1 million against Terry.
White had raised $330,000 by the end of last year, while Terry had raised $733,000, according to federal campaign reports.
Terry also faces a primary challenge from Republican Matt Sakalosky.
Sakalosky, 38, opposed both the bank bailout bill and the stimulus measures passed by Congress, and is sympathetic to the Tea Party movement. The health-care consultant says raising money has been difficult, but he plans to win with a strong grass roots movement.
Sakalosky has raised about $17,000 and had $97 in the bank as of the end of December, according to federal election reports.
“There is not really a Tea Party, but to a lot of people, I represent the closest thing to a Tea Party candidate,” said Sakalosky.
A third challenger who filed, Republican Steve Laird of Omaha, has run against Terry in the past without success.
Candidates in the other congressional races:
3rd District
--Rebekah Davis, 28, a Democrat and a native of Alliance, plans to mount a grass roots effort against incumbent Smith. Davis earned a master’s degree from the Yale Divinity School and has worked as a hospital chaplain in western Nebraska.
--Dennis Parker, 58, plays drums and guitars for a church in Columbus. He is a Republican who filed as a pauper to run against Smith. It costs $1,740 to file for a congressional campaign, but the state will waive it for financial reasons.
1st District
--Stanley Krauter, 56, of Lincoln is an unemployed clerical worker with a dream. The Democrat is running a campaign to garner attention for his idea for a federal holiday to honor taxpayers. Krauter says he doesn’t think he has much of a shot of unseating Fortenberry but hopes his candidacy will help him promote a new national holiday.
--Ivy Harper, 57, a Democrat and an author, says she will run for the Democratic nomination as a moderate, according to her Web site. Harper, who lives in Lincoln, is an author who has written a book about the Special Olympics. She also wrote a book about the life of former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey.
--Jessica Lynn Turek, a Democrat, could not be reached for comment. Turek also filed as a pauper, and the telephone number that she gave the Nebraska Secretary of State’s Office was not working.
--Sherman Yates, a Democrat, also filed as a pauper.
--Ralph Bodie, a Republican from Liberty, and David Hunt, a Republican from Blair, filed Monday. They could not be reached for comment.
Contact the writer:
444-1309, robynn.tysver@owh.com
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