Nebraska governor's race 2026
- Nanci Bradley
- 4 days ago
- 2 min read
Since the governor's races are crucial to early child care and education, we thought you'd like to know where your candidates stand on child care. For each major candidate, we searched for (their name) for governor and child care. Then we reported on what their official campaign literature, if any, said and anything else reported on that they said or did for us. Here are the results .
Lynne Walz (D)
After high school, Lynne worked as a caretaker for three women with developmental disabilities. They quickly became her friends, teaching her compassion and patience – values that have guided her since.
A few years later, Lynne returned to school at Midland Lutheran College to secure a better job to provide for her family. To help pay tuition, she opened an in-home daycare so she could stay close to her children and worked multiple jobs to get by – the deli at Hinky Dinky, evenings at the 3M plant, nights sorting corn at a corn seed factory, and weekends at a men’s clothing store.
After earning her degree in education, Lynne returned to serving others, working for a non-profit supporting people with developmental disabilities. She then entered the classroom, teaching 4th and 5th grade at Fremont Public Schools and at Archbishop Bergan Catholic School. She went on to serve on Bergan’s school board, the Fremont Chamber of Commerce Board, and as president of the Fremont Board of Realtors.
As an average Nebraskan, Lynne knows just how hard it can be to make ends meet. She will work with all stakeholders to build an economy that works for everyone – not just big corporations and the wealthy. As Governor, she’ll focus on business development, supporting small family farms, lowering the cost of housing and daycare, and cutting taxes – not with handouts or politics, but with practical solutions and Nebraska common sense.
Health care, including Medicaid and child care, also was a concern, with one attendee saying that on average, child care costs for infants are $1,000 a month in Norfolk. Adding more school nurses to keep kids healthy and reproductive freedom for women also were mentioned
Jim Pillen (R)
My parents insisted that education would open doors for our future. They sacrificed so we would have the opportunity to pursue our dreams. One of the reasons I am running for governor is to give every child the chance to pursue their dreams right here in Nebraska.
Lincoln, NE – Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen officially proclaimed May 9, 2025, as Provider Appreciation Day in recognition of the state’s family child care providers. Staff from the Nebraska Early Childhood Collaborative (NECC) and Shannon Stutzman, a family child care provider from Columbus, NE, gathered at the Nebraska State Capitol to accept the Proclamation and celebrate family child care providers’ essential role in Nebraska communities.
“In Nebraska, approximately 72% of children aged 0-5 have all available parents in the workforce, meaning they likely rely on child care,” said Stutzman. “A child care provider’s job is to aid parents in the development of their child’s fine motor skills, their critical thinking, their response to stress, and their creativity.”
Early childhood rocks believes that child care is a bipartisan and nonpartisan issue.
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