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Pete Ricketts

Pete Ricketts

Republican · NE U.S. SenatorCandidate 2026

4 years in the U.S. Congress · since 2023

Roles held

  1. Senator 2023 – present NE Republican
  2. Candidate 2026 – present Republican
  3. Governor 2015 – 2023 NE Republican

Years as candidate

  1. 2026
  • background Born August 19, 1964; businessman
  • background Son of Joe Ricketts (TD Ameritrade founder); part owner of Chicago Cubs
  • role Governor of Nebraska (2015–2023), reelected 2018
  • achievement Ran for U.S. Senate 2006; lost to incumbent Ben Nelson
  • role Appointed to U.S. Senate 2023 to fill Ben Sasse vacancy
  • achievement Won 2024 special election to complete Sasse's term

Issue positions (3)

Documented + CivicGate vote-derived — stated positions link their source; derived positions come from votes on direction-tagged bills

Campaign finance

2026 cycle

Incumbent for U.S. Senate NE · 2026 General Election

  • $11,233,507 raised
  • $4,809,506 spent
  • $6,910,970 cash on hand

Data from FEC (through Jun 30, 2026)

Finance updated: not yet pulled

Over time

Data from FEC per-cycle campaign finance

Money raised, spent, and cash on hand across every election cycle on record — toggle a series in the legend.

Pete Ricketts campaign finance by election cycle
Cycle RaisedSpentCash on hand
2006$13,424,896$13,417,690$7,204
2008$102,856$102,520$7,538

Contributions received

Data from FEC

Recorded individual contributions: $49,711 ·

Top contributors (FEC)

Data from FEC, itemized campaign receipts

Top contributors — 2024 cycle

Organizations whose employees gave the most — itemized individual contributions grouped by the donor's reported employer (FEC Schedule A).

  • PEARSON & ASSOCIATES $375,987
  • S-3 GROUP $240,517
  • HOLTZMAN VOGEL, PLLC $205,154
  • Employer not reported $81,377
  • BP $57,784
  • BUNGE NORTH AMERICA PAC $55,960
  • MARQUIS MANAGEMENT, INC. $39,600
  • GREENAMERICAN BIOFUELS $37,300
  • NATIONAL RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION $36,931
  • VERDE RESOURCES $32,650

Outside spending on this race

Data from FEC, Schedule E independent expenditures

Independent expenditures are money outside groups (PACs / super-PACs) spend to support or oppose a candidate without coordinating with their campaign. What's this? →

  • 2026 cycle $779,279 supporting · $431 opposing · 5 outside groups
  • 2024 cycle $30,958 supporting · $0 opposing · 3 outside groups

See the outside-money leaderboard →

Documented relationships

Documented facts about Ricketts, aggregated from public records. A documented relationship is not evidence of wrongdoing — it is context, not a conclusion.

No documented relationships of this kind on record — absence is not a finding.

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