Election denier wins GOP primary to be Nebraska’s election chief

An Omaha businessman who has questioned the legitimacy of the 2020 election and spread voting conspiracy theories won the Republican nomination Tuesday to be Nebraska’s next secretary of state.

Scott Petersen defeated the incumbent, Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) by a vote of 93,672-77,395.

Should Petersen win the general election in November, as is likely in the Republican-leaning state, he would be one of the most extreme and right-wing chief election officials in the country. 

During his campaign, Petersen amplified conspiracies about the 2020 election — notably ones related to the FBI’s January raid of a Fulton County, Georgia election hub.

“By the way, if another state steals elections … our vote doesn’t count as much, right?” Petersen said of the Fulton County raid.

But that’s hardly the first time Petersen has spread voting conspiracies and cast doubt on the legitimacy of the 2020 election. 

Over the past several years, he’s repeatedly posted articles on his Facebook page promoting false claims of vanishing votes and voter fraud. In the weeks after the 2020 election, Petersen posted support for a Texas lawsuit seeking to overturn the results, encouraging “Nebraska and Iowa to join the lawsuit.” 

Petersen also posted support for the Jan. 6, 2021 rally at the White House that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol. 

“What an amazing number of flags and unbelievable support for President Trump!,” he wrote in a Jan. 6 post that featured video from someone who attended the rally. 

Beyond Petersen’s election denialism, his platform included support for a number of anti-voting policies, including strict voter ID laws and restricting vote-by-mail. 

During his campaign, Petersen criticized Evnen’s reliance on voting machines and promised to conduct a full hand-count of races. 

“People having confidence in election systems is a big deal,” Petersen reportedly said. “And I didn’t think Secretary Evnen was doing enough to give them confidence, so that’s why we ran.”

Nebreska might be a solidly red state, but who runs its elections matters. The state’s 2nd congressional district is a swing district, and could come into play for control of the House of Representatives come November. And because of the state’s unusual method of dividing its electoral college votes, the district will also likely be closely contested in the next presidential election.