Twenty years before any of this, in his own words
Before there's a $100,000 check or a Senate appointment, there's a longer record. It cuts both ways, so it goes first.
Before the politics, the money. Pete Ricketts' father, Joe Ricketts, co-founded First Omaha Securities in Omaha, Nebraska in 1975 — one of the first discount brokerages in the country after the SEC deregulated commissions that year. The company grew, renamed itself Ameritrade, went public in 1997 (AMTD), and became TD Ameritrade after acquiring TD Waterhouse in 2006. On October 6, 2020, Charles Schwab completed its acquisition — approximately $6 trillion in client assets and 29 million brokerage accounts. By May 2024, TD Ameritrade's operations had been fully absorbed into Schwab's headquarters in Westlake, Texas. The company was born and headquartered in Omaha for 45 years.
Sources: Wikipedia, TD Ameritrade · Wikipedia, Joe Ricketts · Omaha World-Herald, TD Ameritrade timeline
Pete Ricketts says his interest in politics started in 2004, when he joined the board of an anti-gambling coalition called Gambling with the Good Life. Asked about it for a 2024 investigation into his family's political spending, he declined an in-person interview but answered in writing:
Two years later, in 2006, he ran for U.S. Senate — recruited into the race by state officials and Washington, D.C. Republicans. He spent $12 million of his own money. He lost to Democrat Ben Nelson by nearly 28 points.
That loss matters here: it's the one time in this whole story where voters had Ricketts' money and Ricketts himself on a ballot together, with nothing else in the way — and they said no, decisively. Hold that next to what follows. Both are true about the same person.
Source: Flatwater Free Press, Sara Gentzler & Alex Richards, 2024-09-19
The eight years in between
This page used to jump straight from the 2006 loss to 2022. That skipped the part where Ricketts actually won something — twice — and then had to win it back a third time after Pillen handed it to him. In order:
Republican primary for Governor. Ricketts wins with 26.91% against Jon Bruning's 25.84% — a 1-point margin, the closest Nebraska GOP gubernatorial primary in 92 years, in a six-way field. (2014 election results)
General election. Ricketts beats Democrat Chuck Hassebrook, 57.15% to 39.23% — a comfortable 17.9-point win, the opposite of 2006. (2014 election results)
Sworn in as Nebraska's 40th governor. (Not yet sourced on this page.)
Wins the Republican primary for re-election in a landslide, 81.4%. (Figure not yet sourced on this page.)
Re-elected governor, 59.0% over Democrat Bob Krist. (Figure not yet sourced on this page.)
Term-limited. Cannot run for a third term as governor. This is where the story below picks back up.
Source: Ballotpedia, Pete Ricketts; Wikipedia, 2014 Nebraska gubernatorial election
Then, in 2022
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts publicly endorses Jim Pillen for Governor. (WOWT)
Ricketts gives $100,000 to Jim Pillen's campaign committee. Not reported by a news outlet — pulled directly from Nebraska's own campaign finance system:
Filed on the 2022 Statewide Elections 1st Primary Campaign Statement (Form B-1)
View the record — Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission
The Ricketts family separately spends $3M+ on ads attacking Pillen's two closest primary rivals, Charles Herbster and Brett Lindstrom. (Nebraska Examiner)
Pillen wins the governor's race.
Nine days before any appointment is made, three named political consultants go on record:
Source: Daily Caller, 2023-01-03
Pillen appoints Ricketts to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ben Sasse. (CNN)
An appointment isn't an election. Nebraska law required a special election to let voters decide whether Ricketts kept the seat. He wins the special Republican primary with 78.16% of the vote. (Wikipedia, 2024 special election)
Wins the special general election outright, 62.58%–37.42%, over Democrat Preston Love Jr. — the first time voters, rather than a governor's signature, put him in that seat. (Nebraska Examiner)
The other side of the record
This isn't a story with no process behind it. Pillen ran a formal application: nine named people applied, and he interviewed them individually. (Nebraska Examiner)
| Applicant | Background |
|---|---|
| Pete Ricketts | Former Governor |
| Brett Lindstrom | Former State Senator — the same rival Ricketts' $3M+ in ads had helped defeat months earlier |
| Sid Dinsdale | Pinnacle Bank Chairman |
| Bryan Slone | Nebraska Chamber of Commerce president |
| Greg Ibach | Former NE Dept. of Agriculture director |
| John Glen Weaver | 2022 U.S. House candidate |
| Ann Ashford | Attorney, Democrat, former House candidate |
| Melanie Standiford | Former KNOP-TV news director |
| Tom Becka | Radio/TV personality |
Pillen's own stated reasoning, on the record: Ricketts was "very, very obvious," "committed to the long haul," and "I don't believe in placeholders. I believe that every day matters." (CNN, 2023-01-12)
There was also a real, non-political clock running: Senate GOP leadership wanted the seat filled before the chamber returned from recess on January 23, 2023. That pressure existed independent of Ricketts and Pillen's relationship.
We looked for a direct, on-the-record response from Pillen or Ricketts to the "bought the seat" / "fix was in" charge. We didn't find one. That's a fact about the public record as of this writing, not proof of anything on its own. If one surfaces, this page updates.
The number that didn't hold up
You'll see the figure $1,275,000 — a second Ricketts contribution, to a PAC called "Conservative Nebraska," reported alongside the $100,000 in earlier coverage of this story.
We checked it the same way we checked the $100,000: against Nebraska's own campaign finance records, not against what's already been written about it.
No committee named "Conservative Nebraska" is registered with the Nebraska Accountability and Disclosure Commission. No Ricketts contribution of that size, to any Nebraska PAC, under any name, shows up in the state's contribution records.
- NADC Committee/Business registry search for "Conservative" — no match
- NADC Contributions search, all 5 political-committee filer types — no match
- OpenFEC committee name search — found only "Ensuring A Conservative Nebraska Inc.," active 2014–2016 only, tied to Ricketts' own 2014 governor run, not 2022
- OpenFEC Schedule A, Ricketts' 2021–2022 contributions, all 47 reviewed — none matched
We're publishing that gap on purpose. A number repeated by multiple outlets that our own check of the primary source can't confirm doesn't get to stand next to the number we can prove. That's the rule this whole site runs on: no number without a citation — including the ones that would make the story land harder.
(Separately, and at a different scale: as of December 2024, the Ricketts family has spent at least $18.6 million on Nebraska political campaigns and causes over Pete Ricketts' career — running for governor, serving as governor, and serving in the U.S. Senate — accounting for more than 9% of all political giving in Nebraska in the most recent election cycle. The $5.4 million in the 2022 cycle alone is part of that total. Flatwater Free Press, 2024-12-22 · Flatwater Free Press, 2024-09-19. That's a real, separately sourced pattern — a different claim than the $1,275,000 above. Don't conflate the two.)
The rematch, this November
Look back at the applicant table above. One name in it is Brett Lindstrom — "the same rival Ricketts' $3M+ in ads had helped defeat months earlier" in the 2022 primary. That's not old news anymore.
Gov. Pillen files for re-election.
Pillen wins the Republican primary for a second term.
Brett Lindstrom launches a petition drive for a nonpartisan run at governor — against Pillen, whom he had also opposed in the 2022 Republican primary. (Nebraska Examiner)
Lindstrom turns in 5,765 signatures for the nonpartisan bid.
Only 3,358 of those signatures are validated by the Nebraska Secretary of State's office — more than 2,000 thrown out, short of the 4,000 required. His nonpartisan bid does not qualify. (Nebraska Examiner)
Lindstrom refiles instead as the America First Party candidate for governor. (1011 Now)
This site emailed Lindstrom's campaign our base outreach letter and five questions, the same standard sent to every certified candidate we can reach. Delivered. No reply yet as of this posting. If one comes in, it runs here in full, unedited, same as every other reply on this site.
Source: 1011 Now, 2026-09-01; 1011 Now, 2026-01-26; Fox News; our own outreach record, data/oath_seekers.json
2026: Another name on the same ballot
The November 2026 general election ballot carries Jim Pillen's race for a second term as Governor. It also carries a race for University of Nebraska Board of Regents, District 4 — a nonpartisan seat, four-year term.
Susanne Shore wins the District 4 nonpartisan primary with 34.7% (9,846 votes). Justin Solomon finishes second, 24.8% (7,042 votes). Total votes cast: 28,344. Result certified. (Ballotpedia, Susanne Shore)
Shore certified by the Nebraska Secretary of State as a general election candidate for Regent District 4. She identifies as a Democrat in her own campaign materials; the ballot carries no party label for Regent. (SoS certified candidate list)
This site emailed Shore and Solomon the same five questions, one minute apart (10:07 AM and 10:08 AM), via the contact addresses each uses publicly. Full outreach record and verbatim answers: In Their Own Words.
Shore replied to all five questions within 24 hours and attached her NADC post-primary campaign finance report as a primary source. Verbatim answer: In Their Own Words. What the filing shows:
Period: April 28 – June 16, 2026 | Treasurer: Burke Harr, Flatwater Strategies
Total receipts, election year to date: $212,219.70
Raised this period: $41,650.00 | Cash on hand June 16, 2026: $59,075.71
Schedule A — Notable receipts this period
Public record: Laura Ricketts is the sister of U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE). Source: Wikipedia, Laura Ricketts. She is publicly documented as a Democratic donor and as a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs. Source: NPR, 2014-09-01. No adjective. That is the record.
Schedule B — Notable expenditures this period
| Payee / Committee | Amount | Public record |
|---|---|---|
| Don Bacon for Congress PAC (C00575167) | $1,000 | Don Bacon (R-NE-02) is the sitting U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Ballotpedia |
| Women Who Run Nebraska PAC | $1,500 | Organization supporting women candidates in Nebraska |
| Hawkins Construction | $5,000 |
Primary source: NADC Form B-1, Shore for Regent, post-primary period ending June 16, 2026. Provided by Shore directly in response to this site's outreach. Verify at NADC. Schedule B records disbursements from Shore's campaign committee; see primary document for full context on each entry.
Solomon has not replied as of this posting. Space held open — the same offer stands.
Susanne Shore is married to Pete Ricketts. She uses her maiden name professionally and in her campaign. That is a publicly documented fact — not an allegation, not a conclusion, not ours to editorialize about. (Ballotpedia, Pete Ricketts)
What the record then shows, in the order it happened: Ricketts gave $100,000 to Pillen's 2022 campaign. Pillen won, then appointed Ricketts to the Senate. Ricketts won that seat twice more in special elections. In November 2026, Pillen is on the ballot for a second term as Governor. On the same ballot, Ricketts' wife is running for a seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
This site sent Shore and Solomon the same five questions on the same day. Shore answered all five within 24 hours and provided her NADC filing. Solomon has not replied as of this posting. Space held open — the same offer stands.
Sources: Ballotpedia, Susanne Shore (certified primary result) · Ballotpedia, Pete Ricketts (biography) · Nebraska SoS certified candidate list, 2026-09-11 · NADC Form B-1, Shore for Regent, post-primary 2026 (primary source, provided by Shore) · this site's own outreach record, data/oath_seekers.json, updated 2026-09-29
The full timeline — 1964 to November 3, 2026
Every date on this page, laid out in order. No conclusions — just what's checkable and when.
Pete Ricketts born in Omaha — oldest of four children of Joe and Marlene Ricketts. Siblings: Laura, Todd, Tom. Wikipedia, Pete Ricketts
Joe Ricketts co-founds First Omaha Securities in Omaha — one of the first U.S. discount brokerages after the SEC deregulated fixed commissions. The company that will fund everything below starts here. Wikipedia, TD Ameritrade
Ameritrade becomes the first U.S. brokerage to offer automated touch-tone phone trading. Wikipedia
Ameritrade goes public (ticker: AMTD). Wikipedia
Pete Ricketts and Susanne Shore marry in Omaha. Pete joins his father's company; he will serve as Chief Operating Officer through 2006. Susanne, a registered nurse and university administrator with degrees from Oklahoma State (B.S., MBA) and Creighton (B.S. Nursing), begins her career in Omaha. Wikipedia, Pete Ricketts · National Governors Association, Susanne Shore
Pete's stated political entry point: joins the board of Gambling with the Good Life, an anti-expanded-gambling coalition. His own written account: "I realized that real citizens can make a difference by getting involved." Flatwater Free Press, 2024-09-19
Pete runs for U.S. Senate. Spends $12 million of his own money. Loses to Democrat Ben Nelson by nearly 28 points — described as "the last Democrat elected statewide in Nebraska." Flatwater Free Press
Same year: Ameritrade acquires TD Waterhouse, becomes TD Ameritrade. Wikipedia
Pete wins the Republican primary for Governor by 1 point over Jon Bruning (26.91% to 25.84%) — closest Nebraska GOP gubernatorial primary in 92 years, in a six-way field. Wikipedia
Pete wins the governor's race 57.15% to 39.23% — a 17.9-point margin, the opposite of 2006. Wikipedia
Pete sworn in as Nebraska's 40th governor. Susanne becomes Nebraska First Lady — she will serve in that role for eight years (2015–2023), working on child welfare, education, and family advocacy. (Swearing-in date not yet independently sourced on this page.)
Pete re-elected governor: 81.4% in the primary, 59.0% over Democrat Bob Krist in the general. (Figures not yet independently sourced on this page.)
Charles Schwab completes its acquisition of TD Ameritrade — approximately $6 trillion in client assets and 29 million brokerage accounts. The company Joe Ricketts founded in Omaha in 1975 becomes part of Schwab. By May 2024, operations fully moved to Schwab's headquarters in Westlake, Texas. 45 years Omaha-headquartered. Wikipedia
Pete publicly endorses Jim Pillen for Governor. WOWT
Pete gives $100,000 to Pillen's campaign — documented directly in Nebraska's own campaign finance records, not from news reporting. NADC primary record
Ricketts family spends $3M+ on ads attacking Pillen's two closest rivals, Charles Herbster and Brett Lindstrom. Nebraska Examiner
Pillen wins the governor's race. When he takes office in January 2023, Pete's second term as Governor ends, and with it Susanne's eight years as Nebraska First Lady.
Pillen appoints Pete to the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Ben Sasse. CNN
Pete wins the special Republican Senate primary, 78.16%. Wikipedia
Pete wins the special Senate general election 62.58%–37.42% over Democrat Preston Love Jr. The first time voters — not a governor's signature — put him in that seat. Nebraska Examiner
Susanne Shore announces her candidacy for University of Nebraska Board of Regents, District 4 — identifying as a Democrat. Pete publicly says she will be "an outstanding voice for the university" and calls her his "one Democrat exception" in 2026. Nebraska Examiner, 2026-02-19 · NOTUS
Susanne wins the nonpartisan primary for Regent D04: 34.7% (9,846 votes). Justin Solomon finishes second, 24.8% (7,042 votes). Both advance to the general. Ballotpedia
NADC post-primary filing period. Laura Ricketts — Pete's sister, documented Democratic donor and Chicago Cubs co-owner, of Wilmette, Illinois — gives $10,000 to Shore for Regent. Documented on Schedule A of Shore's NADC Form B-1. Shore provided this filing herself in response to this site's outreach. Wikipedia, Laura Ricketts · NPR, 2014 — "A Political Family, Funding And Running On Both Sides Of The Aisle"
Susanne certified by the Nebraska Secretary of State for the general election, Regent D04. SoS certified candidate list
This site emails Shore and Solomon the same five questions, one minute apart (10:07 AM and 10:08 AM). Both BCC'd hello@wethepeopleoftheusofa.com. Race-even: same letter, same day.
Shore replies to all five questions within 24 hours, attaches her NADC post-primary filing. Solomon: no reply yet as of this posting. Verbatim answers: In Their Own Words
Shore's next NADC filing due — covering the general election period. When filed, those numbers will be checked and added here.
General election: Susanne Shore vs. Justin Solomon, University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 4. Same ballot as Jim Pillen's bid for a second term as Governor.
The Ricketts family has funded politics on both sides of the aisle. Pete (R) donated $100,000 to Pillen's 2022 campaign and was appointed to the Senate. Laura (D) donated $10,000 to Shore's Regent campaign. Joe Ricketts has given to Nebraska campaigns since at least 1999–2000. Total family political spending in Nebraska through Pete's career: at least $18.6 million. Source: NPR, 2014-09-01 · Flatwater Free Press, 2024-12-22
No adjective. That is the record.
What's actually on the record
A man's own account of how he got into politics starts with a grassroots campaign, not a checkbook. Two years later he spent $12 million of his own money on a Senate race and voters turned him down by 28 points. Eight years after that he won the governor's office by the closest primary margin in 92 years, then won it again by a landslide, then hit the state's term limit. Sixteen years after the Senate loss, term-limited out of the governor's chair, he gave $100,000 to a candidate for governor, that candidate won, and about two months after the election appointed him to a Senate seat — through a process that had eight other named applicants, one of whom was a rival Ricketts had spent millions defeating months earlier. Three political consultants said in public, before the appointment, that they thought it was decided in advance. Ricketts then had to go win the seat twice more, in a special primary and a special general, to hold it in his own right. A second, larger dollar figure tied to the same race doesn't check out against the state's own filings.
That same rival from 2022 — Brett Lindstrom — is on the November 2026 ballot again, this time against Pillen directly, after his own signature drive for a nonpartisan run came up short and he refiled under a third party. We sent his campaign the same letter and the same five questions we send every certified candidate. As of this posting, no reply yet. This page updates when one comes in, or when anything else here changes.
Also on the November 2026 ballot: Susanne Shore, running for University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 4. She won the primary in May 2026. She uses her maiden name. She is Pete Ricketts' wife. When asked, she answered every question within 24 hours and provided her NADC filing. That filing shows Laura Ricketts — Pete Ricketts' sister, a publicly documented Democratic donor — gave $10,000 in the post-primary period. That is what it says on the document she handed us. The records are above.
None of that is our conclusion. It's what's checkable, dated, and cited, laid out in the order it happened — unfinished homework, same as everything else here. #PROOF — trust, but verify.