Sen. Lindsey Graham Wants Nebraska Governor to Take Over Senate Seat Left Vacant by Sasse Resignation

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is pushing for Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts to fill the vacant seat left by Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), who recently announced his retirement.

Sasse confirmed on Oct. 6 that he will retire early from the Senate and will likely take a position as president of the University of Florida.

Now, Graham wants Ricketts to take Sasse’s place in the Senate—a position to which Ricketts could theoretically appoint himself. Under Nebraska law, the governor appoints a new senator if a vacancy arises in the middle of a term.

However, Ricketts has been clear that he does not intend to appoint himself, though he did still leave open the prospect of joining the U.S. Senate when his term is over.

“If I choose to pursue the appointment, I will leave the appointment decision to the next governor and will follow the process established for all interested candidates,” Ricketts said. “It is the honor of a lifetime to serve as the governor of Nebraska. It is the greatest job in the world, and it will remain my number one focus for the remainder of my term.”

Ricketts’s second and final term expires in early 2023.

Ricketts “may be moving to Washington for a few years,” Graham told a gathered crowd during a stop in Nebraska, the Cornhusker State.

“To the Ricketts family,” Graham said, “you’re the American dream, too.”

“I didn’t buy his dad’s book, but I don’t buy anybody’s book, don’t take it personal,” Graham joked, referencing a book by Ricketts’s father and TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts. “But he told me his story, his father’s story, and his family’s story, and that’s a story that could only happen in America.”

“So Pete, I hope you’ll think about it, sit down with your family and pray on it, and if that opportunity

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