By
State
Nebraska
Office / race
Governor
Party
America First
Reviewed
October 24, 2026

Career timeline

  1. Represented District 18 in the Nebraska LegislatureSource ↗
  2. Finished third in the Republican governor’s primarySource ↗
  3. Qualified on the America First ticketSource ↗

The America First ticket

Voting booths — election file photograph
Voting booths in Washington, D.C., on November 5, 2024. Archival election context; this is not a portrait of the candidate.Photo: oscepa · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0

Brett Lindstrom is Nebraska’s America First nominee for governor, running with Michael Picard on November 3, 2026. The certified list identifies his party rather than describing him as independent.

Sources: Nebraska Secretary of State — Final statewide general-election candidate list ↗

Omaha, football and financial services

Lindstrom’s campaign biography describes a Lincoln birth, an Omaha upbringing and graduation from Millard West High School. He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and joined the Cornhuskers as a walk-on quarterback. Nebraska Examiner’s voter guide records a bachelor’s degree in history and a career in financial services. His campaign says he has spent nearly two decades advising Nebraska families and businesses on financial planning.

Sources: Lindstrom campaign — Candidate biography ↗ · Nebraska Examiner — 2026 governor voter guide ↗

A legislative record in financial policy

Lindstrom represented District 18 from 2015 through 2023. His campaign records chairmanship of the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee and vice-chairmanships of the Revenue and Retirement Systems committees. It highlights his work eliminating state income tax on Social Security benefits. Those responsibilities make taxation and financial regulation concrete parts of his public record, rather than subjects he first encountered as a gubernatorial candidate.

Sources: Lindstrom campaign — Candidate biography ↗

A second route into a second governor’s race

Voting booths inside a Washington, D.C., polling station
Voting booths at a Washington, D.C., polling station on November 5, 2024. Archival election photograph; not a photograph of survey respondents. Archival context; not a photograph of this candidate or a 2026 campaign event.Photo: oscepa · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0

Nebraska Public Media reports that Lindstrom finished third in the 2022 Republican gubernatorial primary behind Pillen and Charles Herbster. In 2026, he initially sought an independent route onto the ballot. That petition effort failed after fraudulent signatures collected by a hired firm were identified. He subsequently filed under the America First banner, making the final party designation different from the description used at his campaign’s launch.

Sources: Nebraska Public Media — Lindstrom files on America First line ↗

The case he makes to voters

In announcing the America First bid, Lindstrom criticized both Pillen’s fiscal management and the direction of the Democratic Party. Public Media reported his pledge to restore fiscal responsibility and limited government. His candidacy therefore asks voters to consider a former Republican legislator outside the two major party tickets. The ballot qualification is established; whether that positioning attracts a winning coalition remains an electoral question.

Sources: Nebraska Public Media — Lindstrom files on America First line ↗

Sources & original reportingSource publication or schedule date: Sources reviewed October 24, 2026Nebraska Secretary of State — Final statewide general-election candidate list ↗Lindstrom campaign — Candidate biography ↗Nebraska Public Media — Lindstrom files on America First line ↗Nebraska Examiner — 2026 governor voter guide ↗

Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.