Democratic governor candidate Carol Blood taps former GOP state senator as running mate |

State Sen. Carol Blood has chosen Al Davis, a former senator and a rancher from western Nebraska, as her running mate in the race for Nebraska governor.

Blood, a Democrat, announced the selection Sunday, saying she was thrilled to stand with Davis, who represented the 43rd District in the Sandhills for one term.

“It’s time for ‘New Blood’ and effective change and we are the team that are going to make this happen,” Blood said in a statement. “There are exciting things on the horizon when we bring the collaborative voices of all to the table.”

When he served in the Legislature, Davis was a registered Republican. However, Secretary of State records show he’s now a registered Democrat. It’s not the first time he’s changed that affiliation — he switched to Democrat from Republican in the 1990s.

Davis lost his seat to Tom Brewer in 2016.

He was among three incumbent Republican senators that year who placed second in their primaries. All had faced negative mailers, robocalls and advertisements over issues on which they had clashed with Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The three had voted to override Ricketts’ vetoes on a state gas tax hike and a measure providing driver’s licenses to young people brought to the U.S. illegally as children. Ricketts encouraged Brewer to run.

Davis has been actively engaged in legislative issues since leaving the body, most recently as a lobbyist for the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club. Like Blood, he has been outspoken about the AltEn environmental disaster. 

Along with his time in the Legislature, Davis has served on the Hyannis and Redmill school boards and was treasurer of the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska.

He was one of three Nebraska Republicans who launched a pro-Biden effort ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

There were breadcrumbs that hinted at Blood’s choice. Last year, she requested that Attorney General Doug Peterson weigh in on the constitutionality of a state law that requires gubernatorial primary winners to pick a running mate of the same political party.

Among her questions, she asked the AG to consider what would happen if a candidate for governor “chooses a running mate with no party affiliation or a different party affiliation,” according to the AG’s opinion.

Peterson issued the opinion Sept. 1, finding in part that the party affiliation rule doesn’t put an “improper limit” on a candidate’s selection of a running mate.

Later that month, Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb pointed out Davis’ party affiliation change on Twitter when he testified in front of the redistricting committee.

“Sen. Al Davis, who is now a Dem!!!, gave strong points for fair maps!” she wrote.

Blood faces an uphill battle in her run for governor. Nebraska has not selected a Democrat for the office since the 1990s. 

Among GOP gubernatorial candidates, only Sen. Brett Lindstrom has a declared running mate, former State Director of Economic Development Dave Rippe. Charles W. Herbster previously chose former Sen. Theresa Thibodeau as his running mate, but Thibodeau stepped down and has since launched her own bid for governor.