Briefly

Carol Blood picks former State Sen. Al Davis as her running mate in Nebraska governor race

By: Paul Hammel - March 27, 2022 5:54 pm

State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue testifies at a legislative hearing in 2022. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN— Former State Sen. Al Davis, a Sandhills rancher with a second home in Lincoln, was picked Sunday by Democratic gubernatorial candidate State Sen. Carol Blood as her running mate.

Blood, of Bellevue, said she was seeking a lieutenant governor who would be “servant-hearted, hard working,” who had past political experience and who had “the same fire in his or her belly.”

The 69-year-old Davis, Blood said, brings “exceptional experience to the table,” as well as a background in agriculture and environmental and tax issues.

Native of Hyannis

Davis, a native of Hyannis, served in the Legislature in 2013-17 before being defeated for re-election by Gordon Sen. Tom Brewer.

Davis was a registered Republican at that time, but had been a registered Democrat prior to that, and he has returned to the Democratic Party.

In the Legislature, Davis was known for working to lower property taxes, especially as they impacted farmers and ranchers, and for getting a law passed to obtain a firefighting airplane in western Nebraska to respond quickly to wildfires.

Prior to being elected to the Legislature, Davis was a founding member of the Independent Cattlemen of Nebraska, a group dedicated to restoring fairness to the marketing of beef. He had been a school board member in Hyannis and had operated his family’s OLO Ranch, one of the largest in the state. It was homesteaded in 1888.

Served on several boards

Davis has served as an adviser to or on the governing boards of several organizations, including the Organization for Competitive Markets, the Nebraska Arts Council, Voices for Children and the OpenSky Policy Institute. During the 2020 election, Davis was treasurer for Nebraskans for Responsible Lending, an initiative to limit payday lending.

Most recently, Davis has worked as the lobbyist for the Nebraska chapter of the Sierra Club.

He and his wife, Dottie, have homes in Hyannis and Lincoln.

Besides Blood, Roy A. Harris of Linwood is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in the May 10 primary.

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Paul Hammel

Senior Reporter Paul Hammel covered the Nebraska state government and the state for decades. Previously with the Omaha World-Herald, Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha Sun, he is a member of the Omaha Press Club's Hall of Fame. He grows hops, brews homemade beer, plays bass guitar and basically loves traveling and writing about the state. A native of Ralston, Nebraska, he is vice president of the John G. Neihardt Foundation.