Bob Krist wins Nebraska Democratic governor nod

Nebraska state Sen. Bob Krist of Omaha has won the Democratic nomination to run for the seat held by incumbent Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts.

Krist defeated two other Democratic candidates in Tuesday’s primary election. The veteran state lawmaker campaigned on promises that he would take a less partisan approach to state government than Ricketts.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts has easily won the Republican nomination to seek a second term in November.

Ricketts defeated Krystal Gabel of Omaha, a technical writer who advocates for medical marijuana and industrial hemp. Gabel previously volunteered for the Nebraska Green Party and the Legal Cannabis Now Party.

Ricketts has already started airing television ads to tout his previous efforts to lower property taxes.

Lincoln, Nebraska, City Councilwoman and grocery store executive Jane Raybould won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Nebraska.

Raybould defeated three Democratic challengers in Tuesday’s primary race for the seat held by Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, who is running for re-election.

The other Democratic hopefuls who ran were retired farmer, attorney and judge Frank Svoboda of Lincoln; retired Fremont real estate broker Larry Marvin; and Chris Janicek, the owner of an Omaha specialty cake business.

Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has won the Republican nomination in her bid for a second term.

Fischer defeated four GOP challengers in Tuesday’s primary election and will be the strong favorite to win re-election in deep-red Nebraska.

Some of Fischer’s primary opponents had argued she wasn’t conservative enough, but Fischer received endorsements from a majority of the state’s elected Republican officials, as well as major farm and business groups. Before being elected to the Senate, she was a rancher and state legislator.

She defeated retired Omaha math professor Jack Heidel; writer and retired air conditioning technician Dennis Frank Macek; former finance manager Jeffrey Lynn Stein; and Lincoln businessman Todd Watson.

Pennsylvania state senator and waste-hauling millionaire Scott Wagner is the winner of the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf.

Wagner’s victory in Tuesday’s three-way primary election caps a personal spending spree of more than $10 million that helped make him the front-runner and the GOP’s endorsed candidate.

Wagner defeated first-time candidates Paul Mango and Laura Ellsworth.

The four-term congressman, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, has won the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in Pennsylvania.

U.S. Rep. Lou Barletta had paid little attention to his Republican rival, state Rep. Jim Christiana, during the primary campaig. He focused his attacks on the candidate he is looking to unseat in the fall, twoterm Democratic Sen. Bob Casey.

Barletta is a former small-city mayor who first got national notice for attempting to pass local laws to combat illegal immigration.

Trump asked Barletta to run for Senate and is expected to campaign for him.

Casey is the son of a former Pennsylvania governor and is among 10 Democratic senators seeking reelection in states won by Trump.