Petitioners push for new political party in Nebraska as Democrats call it a scam

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Accusations swirl over a petition circulating in Nebraska to introduce a new political party.

Secretary of State Bob Evnen said a group called the Nebraska Working People Party filed paperwork a few days ago.

The affidavit was filed by a woman named Robin Richards. She ran as a write-in Democrat for the Nebraska State Legislature but lost in the primary election.

Now, she is spearheading an effort to create a new political party just five months ahead of the midterms.

In the affidavit, she wrote the purpose of the party is to give voters an organization dedicated to working families and middle-class Nebraskans along with farmers and ranchers.

Evnen said if the party wants candidates on the November ballot, there are multiple steps they have to go through.

“You have to turn in signatures from registered voters,” he said. “They’ll need to get approximately 2,200 signatures from each of the three congressional districts.”

The group needs 6,762 valid signatures by July 15 to move forward.

But in just a couple days of this mission, outrage sparked online.

Some groups took to social media to warn voters. The Nebraska Democratic Party called it a “scam” and claimed it is a “Republican dark money operation to rig the November election and silence Nebraska voters.”

Chair Jane Kleeb wrote a statement, and said this new proposed political party is an effort to divide the Democratic vote and create chaos.

But the Nebraska GOP Chair Mary Jane Truemper sent Channel 8 a statement.

She wrote in part, “We respect everyone’s right to file petitions but our focus remains clear: to win in November with Republicans up and down the ballot.”

Channel 8 reached out to Robin Richards for a comment on the accusations but did not hear back.