Biography
Scott Petersen is the Republican nominee for Nebraska Secretary of State, an Omaha business owner and former Douglas County Republican Party chairman. He defeated incumbent Bob Evnen in the May 2026 primary and is campaigning on restoring confidence in elections through accurate voter rolls, chain-of-custody procedures and transparency.[1][2][4]
Petersen earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa in 1976.[3] He describes himself as a Nebraska business owner and conservative leader with more than 30 years of experience building and operating businesses in the state.[1]
Petersen served as chairman of the Douglas County Republican Party and sits on the Nebraska Republican Party's State Executive Committee, and he was a delegate to the 2024 Republican National Convention.[1][4][5] In 2020 he was the Republican candidate for Douglas County Clerk-Comptroller and lost to incumbent Daniel Esch, a Democrat, with 45.8% of the vote.[3] He has never held elected office.[4]
Petersen challenged Evnen from the right and won the May 12, 2026 Republican primary with 54.6% of the vote to Evnen's 45.4%.[2][3][4][5] He has said his priorities are secure, transparent and accountable elections, and that he would bring a business-minded approach to the office's business services and public records work.[1][2]
- 1.Nebraska Secretary of State election, 2026 — Candidate Connection survey responses (Petersen, Slattery) · Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey · 2026-10-19 Candidate's own words
- 2.Election 2026: Nebraska Secretary of State candidates to focus on future of elections · WOWT · 2026-05-13 News report
- 3.Scott Petersen (Nebraska) · Ballotpedia · 2026-10-21 Reference
- 4.Evnen out as Nebraska secretary of state · Nebraska Public Media · 2026-05-12 News report
- 5.Scott Petersen challenges Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen from right · Nebraska Examiner · 2026-03-02 News report
Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.
On the ballot
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