Governor of Nebraska
Rick Beard
Wine professional and private chefLegal Marijuana NOW
- Race
- Governor of Nebraska
- Election
- 2026-11-03
- Opponents
- Jim Pillen (R); Lynne Walz (D); Brett Lindstrom (America First)
- Research
- Basic
Party linenone
No recorded floor votes — not a current legislator in our records.
Said vs. did1 statement · 0 votes
Raise income taxes by one or two points on Nebraska's top earners with incremental brackets for different levels of earning.
Raise taxes on high earners or corporations
Compare statements with votes ›On the ballotGovernor
2026-11-03
| Jim Pillen R | incumbent |
| Lynne Walz D | challenger |
| Brett Lindstrom America First | challenger |
| Rick Beard Legal Marijuana NOW | challenger |
Running with Keenya Barnes, an Omaha Housing Authority commissioner. Nominee of the Legal Marijuana NOW Party.
Said vs. did
Each documented position next to the recorded floor votes we map to the same issue. Votes are compared one at a time; no overall stance is inferred from them.
Raise income taxes by one or two points on Nebraska's top earners with incremental brackets for different levels of earning.
Said he would raise income taxes by one or two points on top earners and stop giving corporations tax breaks.[3][4]
No recorded floor vote in our key-vote set maps to this issue.
Biography
Rick Beard of Omaha is the Legal Marijuana NOW nominee for governor, a wine professional and private chef. He is running on a state-run medical cannabis program that he says could raise new revenue for property-tax relief, along with an industrial hemp industry and limits on corporate and political action committee money.[1][2]
Basic profile — the most important sourced facts we found.
Beard is a wine professional and private chef and a former farmer; one listing also describes him as a winemaker.[1][2]
Beard won the Legal Marijuana NOW primary on May 12, 2026, with 69.1% of the vote over James Charvat, and chose Omaha Housing Authority commissioner Keenya Barnes as his running mate.[2] In a July 2026 interview with the Nebraska Examiner he listed his priorities as medical cannabis and industrial hemp programs, getting corporate and political action committee money out of state politics, and a pause on data center development with mandated closed-loop cooling systems.[1] He said a state-run medical cannabis program, in which the state would hire farmers, buy facilities and oversee land, could generate $100 million in new tax revenue a year, rising to as much as $500 million.[1]
In their own words
Priorities
- Legalize strong medical cannabis and industrial hemp programs, with a state-run medical cannabis system he estimates could generate $100 million to $500 million a year.[3]
- Remove corporate and PAC money from state politics.[3]
- Take a more in-depth look at data centers, including a pause on development and mandated closed-loop cooling systems.[3]
Campaign moneyNo FEC filing summary matched — state candidates file with their state, not the FEC.
Profile: /people/rick-beard
Compare all 4 candidates side by side ›
Sources cited in this profile
- 1.Beard talks priorities, pivot from Nebraska primary election to Nov. 3 faceoff · WOWT / Nebraska Examiner · 2026-07-27 News report
- 2.2026 Nebraska gubernatorial election · Wikipedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 3.Beard talks priorities, pivot from Nebraska primary election to Nov. 3 faceoff · WOWT / Nebraska Examiner · 2026-07-27 News report
- 4.Nebraska Governor | Voter Guide: 2026 General Election · Nebraska Examiner · 2026-10-19 News report