Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk speaks with his colleagues last year during the legislative session at the state Capitol.
Amid speculation that he may seek the House seat now held by embattled Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk has scheduled a news conference in the Capitol Rotunda on Sunday afternoon.
Flood, a former Speaker of the Legislature, would challenge Fortenberry in the Republican primary election for the 1st District seat in May.
Earlier, he declined comment on reports that polling was underway to measure his potential support.
Fortenberry, a former Lincoln City Councilman who is facing indictment in California for allegedly lying to federal officials about illegal foreign contributions that were funneled into his 2016 reelection campaign, is seeking reelection to the House seat he has held since 2005.
Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the eastern Nebraska House seat.
This is a developing story. Stay with JournalStar.com for updates.
1st District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks with more than 200 constituents during a town hall meeting at Southeast Community College on Monday, Aug. 8, 2011. The nation’s debt was the most popular topic of the evening. (BRYNN ANDERSON / Lincoln Journal Star)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks during a Memorial Day event honoring military veterans in 2012 at Antelope Park.
First District candidate for Congress Jeff Fortenberry (right) speaks to members of the media during a news conference in 2004 at the Fremont Municipal Airport. Supporting at the press conference were Congressmen Tom Osborne and Bob Goodlatte of Virginia.
ASHLAND, NE – 08/16/2012 – Sen. Ben Nelson humors Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (second from left) as he opens his remarks during the 2012 Legislative Summit at the Strategic Air & Space Museum. Congressional report speakers were (L-R) Congressman Adrian Smith, Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, Congressman Lee Terry, Sen. Mike Johanns, and Sen. Ben Nelson. ROBERT BECKER/Lincoln Journal Star 8/17/2012 2A Sen. Ben Nelson humors Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (second from left) as he opens his remarks during the 2012 Legislative Summit at the Strategic Air & Space Museum on Thursday. Congressional report speakers were (from left) Rep. Adrian Smith, Fortenberry, Rep. Lee Terry, Sen. Mike Johanns and Nelson. ROBERT BECKER/LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR
Republicans Gov. Mike Johanns (left) and Sen. Chuck Hagel join Jeff Fortenberry at the Cornhusker Hotel Tuesday night. Fortenberry thanked them for lending their “good names,” to his campaign.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry walks into the Kolac Korner in Prague on Wednesday, Aug. 12, 2013, for a reception to welcome Petr Gandalovic, the Czech ambassador to the United States.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (from left) Republican Senate nominee Ben Sasse and Gov. Dave Heineman share a laugh at Sasse’s Election Night party Tuesday at the Grand Manse.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-1st Dist., speaks at a Memorial Day service at Wyuka Cemetery.
Jeff Fortenberry (right) with veteran Bill Elwood of Red Oak, Iowa. Fortenberry is a member of the congressional delegation that joined President Barack Obama and other world leaders in paying tribute to the U.S. and allied forces who fought and died in Normandy on D-Day 70 years ago.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (left) and Gov. Dave Heineman tour damage in downtown Pilger with Fire Chief Kory Koehlmoos after the tornadoes.
LINCOLN, NEB – 08/08/2014 – Widow Liz Prange receives a hug from Congressman Jeff Fortenberry following the funeral service for her husband, United States Army Staff Sergeant Benjamin G. Prange, on Friday outside Southwood Lutheran Church.
Military historian Timothy Kilvert-Jones (left), U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (center) and Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce President K.C. Belitz visit the Andrew Jackson Higgins Memorial, which includes a full-size replica of Higgins’ landing craft, on Tuesday in Columbus.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (left) speaks to Pete Ricketts’ supporters as his wife, Celeste, looks on prior to Ricketts’ appearance on Tuesday at The Cornhusker Marriott in Lincoln. Fortenberry told the crowd to enjoy the GOP’s wins. Winning is wonderful, he said. “But it’s not enough. We have to govern.”
Former President George W. Bush, along with former first lady Laura Bush, met this week in Washington with the family of a Nebraska soldier whom the president had decorated with a Purple Heart weeks before the soldier died of wounds suffered in a roadside bomb explosion in Afghanistan. The meeting was arranged by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (far right). Capt. Robert Yllescas’ two daughters, Julia Faye (right) and Eva Grace, were joined by their mother, Dena, who has remarried, and her husband, John Johnston, along with their 21-month-old son, Carsten.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (right) talks with U.S. Army Capt. Jonathan D. Murrell (left) and Sgt. 1st Class Anthony E. Fey on Friday during a visit to the military recruitment center on North 27th Street.
Congressmen Adrian Smith (from left), Brad Ashford and Jeff Fortenberry joined Gov. Pete Ricketts to answer questions about a task force formed to push for runway repairs at Offutt Air Force Base.
LINCOLN, NEB – 11/08/2016 Congressman Jeff Fortenberry smiles for a picture with supporters Sydney Langness (from left), Joyce Hasselbalch, Karen Lay, Myre Meints and Donna McClain, all of Lincoln, during the Lancaster Republican Party’s election night event on Tuesday, Nov. 8, 2016, at Chez Hay Reception Hall. MATT RYERSON, Journal Star
Laila Khoudeida, board member and secretary for the global Yazidi group Yazda, speaks with Congressman Jeff Fortenberry during a tour of the newly opened Yazidi Cultural Center on Friday.
Lincoln Police Officer Christopher Milisits keeps an eye on the crowd as Rep. Jeff Fortenberry answers questions during a town hall meeting with constituents at Lincoln Southwest High School.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-NE) on Monday (April 24) issued the following statement after meeting Malawi’s Ambassador to the United States: “Congratulations to Norfolk and their sister city Blantyre, Malawi. I was honored to welcome the Malawi Ambassador, His Excellency Edward Yakobe Sawerengera, and the Mayor of Blantyre, the Honorable Wild Ndipo, to my office. We had a good discussion about education, agriculture, and conservation practices.” Fortenberry serves on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks as police monitor the crowd at Schoo Middle School.
LINCOLN, NEB – 07/31/2017 Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks at a town hall meeting on Monday, July 31, 2017 at Lux Middle School. AMBER BAESLER, Journal Star
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (left) takes a question during a town hall meeting amid hundreds of constituents on Monday, March 13, 2017, at Lincoln Southwest High School.
Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (left) and James Terry chat during Fortenberry’s visit to the SCC Entrepreneurship Center in June 2017
Lincoln, NE – 7/27/2018 – Rep. Jeff Fortenberry listens to a question at a town hall meeting on Friday, July 27, 2018, at Schoo Middle School. GWYNETH ROBERTS, Journal Star
A large Jeff Fortenberry sign was defaced in October with big googly eyes and a misspelling of the incumbent candidate’s name.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb.,, second right, shakes the hand of a supporter during a Nebraska Republican Party Get Out The Vote rally tour stop in Omaha, Neb., Friday, Nov. 2, 2018. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry hugs one of his daughters while speaking at an election party in Lincoln Tuesday.
U.S. Representative Jeff Fortenberry and his wife Celeste are presented during the “Grand March” on Saturday Jan. 12th, 2019, for the 2019 Inaugural Ball at Pinnacle Bank Arena.
1st District Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks at a town hall meeting in August 2019 at Lincoln North Star High School. Fortenberry, a Republican, had $1.9 million in campaign cash on hand in April to face Democratic challenger Kate Bolz.
Nebraska’s elected lawmakers, from left: Reps. Don Bacon, Adrian Smith, and Jeff Fortenberry and Sens. Deb Fischer and Ben Sasse sit on stage during a legislative summit sponsored by the Omaha and Lincoln Chambers of Commerce, at the Strategic Air Command & Aerospace Museum in Ashland Thursday.
Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (from left), Rep. Jeff Fortenberry and Sen. Deb Fischer listen to remarks during an unveiling ceremony of a statue of Ponca Chief Standing Bear in Statuary Hall in September.
Jeff Fortenberry (third from left) watches as President Trump signs The Great American Outdoors Act on Tuesday.
Gov. Pete Ricketts (right) defended Rep. Jeff Fortenberry on Monday, describing him as “a man of high integrity.” The two Republicans are shown here at a meeting in September 2020 with Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue, who visited Great Plains Beef in Lincoln.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks at an event to celebrate the progress made on construction of the Lincoln South Beltway on Oct. 8.
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry listens as President Donald Trump speaks at Eppley Airfield in Omaha on Tuesday. President Trump spoke as part of a Make America Great Again! campaign rally.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry introduces his wife Celeste during the Lancaster County Republican election watch party on Tuesday at the Embassy Suites.
LINCOLN, NEB. – 11/03/2020 – Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks during Lancaster County Republican election watch party, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2020, at Embassy Suites. JUSTIN WAN, Journal Star
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks to anti-abortion advocates near the north steps of the state Capitol during the Walk for Life in January.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks during the Republican watch party on May 4.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry meets with with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.
Jeff Fortenberry tweeted this photo and said help is needed at the border, where he met with the sheriff near the Texas town of Uvalde.
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (left) and Sen. Deb Fischer converse at the Federal Legislative Summit on Aug. 12 at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum.
Rep. Adrian Smith (left) and Sen. Deb Fischer (right) listen as Rep. Jeff Fortenberry speaks at the Federal Legislative Summit on Thursday at the Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum.
U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (right) talks to Tom Henning, Chairman, President and CEO at Assurity Life, during a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce lunch on Tuesday. Fortenberry talked to business leaders about the important issues facing Nebraskans at the federal level and the impact in Lincoln.
U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry laughs at a comment from one of his fellow diners during a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce lunch on Tuesday. He spoke about the important issues facing Nebraskans at the federal level and how those issues impact businesses in Lincoln.
U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry talks to diners during a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce lunch to discuss the important issues facing Nebraskans at the federal level on Oct. 5 at the Country Club of Lincoln.
U.S. Congressman Jeff Fortenberry speaks during a Lincoln Chamber of Commerce lunch Tuesday at the Country Club of Lincoln. He talked to business leaders about the important issues facing Nebraskans at the federal level and the impact in Lincoln.
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Gov. Pete Ricketts announced that the state is notifying Colorado that Nebraska plans to proceed with a $500 million plan of developing a canal and reservoir system to capture water from the South Platte River.
The bill would apply to medical professionals (such as doctors, nurses, researchers and pharmacists), hospitals and nursing homes, and health care payers including employers and insurers.
The Legislature advanced a resolution calling for Nebraska to join a convention of states on a 32-10 vote after a first-round filibuster attempt was scrapped Monday afternoon, the first day of floor debate in the 2022 session.
The governor said the state has issued a new directed health measure suspending some inpatient and outpatient surgeries at the Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Asked about those reports, Flood said: “No comment.”
The multi-candidate Republican gubernatorial primary contest appears likely to feature a costly battle with Pillen and Charles Herbster, a Falls City cattle producer, leading the campaign finance charts.
The governor unveiled an ambitious program of investments in Nebraska’s future, including major development and protection of natural resources along with workforce development while targeting substantial additional tax relief.
Nebraska’s governor said the South Platte River Compact “specifically provides Nebraska authority over water and land in Colorado” for construction of a canal to ensure access to a share of the water from the river.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said his state would work to protect and “aggressively assert” its water rights in light of Nebraska’s $500 million proposal to build a canal in his state to pull water from the South Platte River.
“It’s fascinating to see the death threats, rape threats & sexually explicit comments sent by self-proclaimed ‘feminists’ to me, a female state senator, because I introduced a #prolife Heartbeat Bill,” state Sen. Julie Slama said.
Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk speaks with his colleagues last year during the legislative session at the state Capitol.
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