Kerry Eddy defeated Kenneth Peterson in Nebraska’s Legal Marijuana NOW Party U.S. Senate primary on Tuesday. Eddy, who initially entered the race to support independent candidate Dan Osborn, led Peterson by a margin of two to one.
According to the Lincoln Journal Star, Eddy first entered the race with the intent to win the Legal Marijuana NOW Party’s nomination, where she would then support independent candidate Dan Osborn against Republican Senator Deb Fischer. Eddy, fearing that a challenge from a Legal Marijuana NOW Party candidate would threaten Osborn’s chances, stated on her campaign site that she intended to bring the party’s voters to Osborn’s campaign.
“I am running to support an independent candidate – Dan Osborn. He has a real shot at beating pro-fascist, corporate shill Deb Fischer,” Eddy’s website still says as of Thursday afternoon. “[…] My intent is to bring Legal Marijuana NOW voters to Dan Osborn. We need everyone we can get to push Deb Fischer out of the ivory tower that Ricketts built. Goes without saying: Fuck Ricketts. Fuck Fischer.”
Also, according to her campaign site, Eddy aimed to persuade 5% of Nebraska voters to change their party affiliation to the Legal Marijuana NOW Party in the lead up to the primary, maintaining the party’s ballot access status while directing those voters to support the Osborn campaign.
Readers of Independent Political Report can view results, courtesy of the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, below:
| Candidate Name | Vote Total | Vote Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Peterson | 309 votes | 31.28% |
| Kerry Eddy | 679 votes | 68.72% |
Eddy’s strategy reportedly drew criticism from traditional members of the party, who called her plan “daring” and “nefarious,” while also attracting a significant amount of outside support and campaign funds, including support from a Super PAC allegedly backing Osborn’s campaign. Osborn, who did not appear on Tuesday’s primary ballots due to him being an independent candidate, has been seeking support from Nebraska Democrats. However, during a press release on Wednesday, he announced that he would no longer seek endorsements from any political party in the state, angering state Democrats, Libertarians, and supporters within the Legal Marijuana NOW Party.
If Eddy ultimately decides to decline the party’s nomination, state law permits the Legal Marijuana NOW Party to select a replacement nominee through either a “mass convention” or the party’s Executive Committee. Party Chair Mark Elworth Jr. has already reportedly pledged to pursue the Senate seat if Eddy withdraws from the race.
Nebraska appears to have nearly 6700 voters affiliated with the Legal Marijuana NOW Party. I’d be interested to know if the Peterson campaign did anything to contact those folks by door-knocking, direct mail, or text/phone banking.