Until this morning, Nebraska Republican state Senator Bob Krist was running for governor as an independent. Although it's been leaking for a couple of days, today he announced he was quitting the Republican Party and running as Democrat against Governor Pete Ricketts.It probably has more to do with the desire to automatically appear on the May 15 primary ballot without having to collect petition signatures than anything to do with a transformation to the ideals and values that some Democrats still believe in, although Krist often crossed the aisle and voted with Democrats against official GOP positions, driving the Republican leadership up the wall.
After Krist switched his voter registration Monday, Democrats said he will be a competitive candidate, while Republicans criticized his path to becoming a Democrat.Krist had previously said he planned to create a new political party and gather the 5,500 signatures necessary to do so. Then, earlier this month, he filed a lawsuit to challenge a state law that says nonpartisan candidates who want to run for statewide office need to collect more than 100,000 signatures to appear on the ballot.Krist also struggled to raise funds as an independent-- he ended 2017 with $14,000 in the bank.Krist on Monday confirmed that he had switched parties but declined to comment further. He has scheduled a press conference Tuesday with Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler and current and former state senators.Krist was appointed by former Gov. Dave Heineman as a Republican. He has often bucked his own party leaders on issues such as prenatal care for illegal immigrants but has said that his opposition to abortion separates him from the Democratic Party.Ricketts’ campaign manager, Jessica Flanagain, said: “Krist has had a drama-filled pathway to registering with the (Democratic) party he’s voted with for years.”And at a Monday press conference, Nebraska Republican Party officials tried to paint him as disingenuous for the party switching.“I think what we’ve seen today is more flopping around than a catfish on a sandbar,” said Republican National Committeeman J.L. Spray.In response, Krist’s campaign released a statement: “Voters are fed up with this kind of constant partisan politics from Gov. Ricketts and his party bosses that divide us rather than unite us. I pledge to bring all of us together and to focus on unity and problem-solving, not ideology to move our great state forward.”State Sen. Burke Harr of Omaha, a Democrat, said Krist has a good record.“I’m glad that he’s finally come home to his roots, which is representing the working-class person,” he said.Nebraska Democratic Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb declined to comment Monday.Two other Democrats have announced that they’re seeking the seat: Vanessa Ward, a pastor from Omaha, and Tyler Davis, a University of Nebraska at Omaha instructor.
Today Kleeb told us that "The Democratic Party welcomes Sen. Krist and his strong leadership with the disability community, veterans and years of working across the aisle for Nebraska’s families. We have over 130 Democrats running this cycle and are offering Nebraskans a real choice at the ballot box to end one-party rule." Krist is a retired Air Force Lt. Colonel and the fact that he flew over 100 combat missions probably means more to most establishment professional DC Dems than where he stands on issues like Medicare-for-All and other factors that are driving the energy of the resistance and the determination of the grassroots to take back the government from Trump and his enablers.I know this is mean, but I do want to mention that when former Florida Governor Charlie Krist switched parties and "became" a Democrat, he won a congressional seat. He now votes with the Republicans about as frequently as with Democrats on the crucial issues the House takes up. ProgressivePunch rates him an overall "F." Just sayin'. As for the Nebraska Krist, he's been fairly anti-Choice, was given an "A" by the NRA, is good on marijuana policy and switched from being anti-LBGT to being a good voter on gay issues. Planned Parenthood has graded him a couple of zeroes but their latest grade for him was 50%. I wonder how he'd be on the cutting edge agenda Bernie will be running on in 2020, things like Job Guarantee and cancellation of student debt. What do you think?