Jim Pillen

Jim Pillen
41st Governor of Nebraska
Incumbent
Assumed office January 5, 2023
Lieutenant	Joe Kelly
Preceded by	Pete Ricketts
Personal details
Born	December 31, 1955 Columbus, Nebraska, U.S.
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Suzanne Pillen
Children	4
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Education	University of Nebraska, Lincoln (BS) Kansas State University (DVM)
Website	Campaign website
College football career
No. 29
Position	Defensive back
Career history
College	Nebraska (1975–1978)
High school	Lakeview (Columbus, Nebraska)
Career highlights and awards
2x All-Big Eight (1977, 1978) 1x Academic All-American (1978)

James Douglas Pillen (born December 31, 1955) is an American politician, veterinarian and livestock producer serving as the 41st and current governor of Nebraska since 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Pillen served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents from 2013 to 2023.

Early life and education

Pillen was born in Columbus, Nebraska to Dale and Dorothy Pillen. After graduating from Lakeview Junior-Senior High School in 1974, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in animal science from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine.

From 1975 to 1978, Pillen was a defensive back for the Nebraska Cornhuskers football team under Tom Osborne. He was inducted into the Nebraska Football Hall of Fame in 2004.

Career

Pillen is a practicing veterinarian and also works as chair of Pillen Family Farms. The business, which employs members of Pillen's family, acquired DNA Genetics in 2003. Pillen has also worked as president of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce and chaired the Columbus Community Hospital Board of Directors. He has served on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents (which governs the University of Nebraska System) since 2012, and as vice-chair and chair in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Pillen was the Republican nominee in the 2022 Nebraska gubernatorial election. During the Republican primary election, he refused to debate his primary rivals. Pillen was endorsed by incumbent Governor Pete Ricketts and former Governor Kay A. Orr. In a crowded field of primary candidates, Pillen won the nomination with about 33.75% of the vote, defeating Charles Herbster (who received 30.13%), Brett Lindstrom (25.68%), and Theresa Thibodeau (6.05%). Pillen's running mate was former U.S. Attorney Joseph P. Kelly. Pillen campaigned on opposing abortion and critical race theory. In the general election, he refused to debate the Democratic nominee, Carol Blood.

Pillen was elected governor with 59.9% of the vote to Blood's 36.1% and Libertarian nominee Scott Zimmerman's 4%. He took office on January 5, 2023. One week after being sworn in, he appointed his predecessor, Pete Ricketts, to the United States Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Ben Sasse to become president of the University of Florida.

Governor of Nebraska

Elections

2022

Incumbent Republican Governor Pete Ricketts was term-limited and unable to seek a third term. Pillen won the gubernatorial election by a 23-point margin.

Nebraska's primary elections were held on May 10. Pillen won the Republican nomination, while state senator Carol Blood won the Democratic nomination.

The race took on increased importance in October 2022, when U.S. Senator Ben Sasse announced he would resign and Ricketts said he would allow the winner of the 2022 gubernatorial election to appoint Sasse's replacement. Pillen appointed Ricketts to replace Sasse.

Tenure

Pillen drew criticism in October 2023 when responding to reporting about dangerously high levels of nitrates at his farms. Reporter Yanqi Xu had written that 16 Pillen farms had nitrate levels of at least 50 parts per million, five times the level considered safe to drink. Claiming not to have read the article in question, he said: "all you’ve got to do is look at the author. Author’s from Communist China—what more do you need to know?" The Asian American Journalists Association issued a statement condemning Pillen's remarks, stating that "Xu, an investigative reporter who grew up in China, deserves to do her job without being judged because of her nationality."

Personal life

Pillen and his wife, Suzanne, have four children and seven grandchildren. Pillen is a Roman Catholic.

Electoral history

2022 election