FAQ’s

This question assumes that one of the two major parties wins a majority of seats in the House. That is probable, but not certain. There are several highly credible independents running for House seats across America, and a handful of successful independent candidates might be sufficient to deny either of the two parties a majority.

Assuming one of the two major parties wins a majority in the House, I will not caucus with either party. When Nebraska Sen. George Norris won a senate seat as an independent, he did not caucus with either party. I will honor the fact that Nebraskans sent me to the House as an independent, and I won’t be beholden to any party or party leader. It’s likely that the next House of Representatives will be closely divided, and remaining truly independent is how I can best represent rural Nebraskans.

And, no, I’m not worried that refusing to caucus with either party will prevent me from getting a desirable committee assignment. In a closely divided House of Representatives, it would be unwise for either party to alienate or ignore an independent. I’m not just going to Washington to serve on a committee – I’m going to be a powerful voice for rural Nebraskans. Regardless of committee assignments, no party leader can stop me from introducing legislation, voting on a bill, speaking to other representatives, or speaking to the press to hold the feet of both parties to the fire.

No.

First, I am a veteran and I’ve been teaching karate for a long time. I live in Lemoyne with my 140 pound Irish Wolfhound, Solomon.  I don’t worry about much of anything. It’s not productive. The only thing I’m afraid of is my girlfriend. (That would be Nurse Sheri, from Crete, Nebraska — the former Nebraska State Pork Queen).

Second, no Democrat or a Republican is entitled to a vote, so it is not possible for me to “take away” votes from a party nominee. The notion that someone is entitled to a vote merely because of their party affiliation typifies the arrogance of some in both parties that has driven so many voters into the ranks of the independents.

Third, no Democrat has received more than twenty percent of the vote in this race in years. Democrat Stille has no chance of winning this race. More than half of all Democrats will vote for me because they believe I am more electable, better qualified, and more of a fighter. They know I am a veteran with an advanced degree in agricultural law who chose to make the Sandhills my home. They are folks who put their nation and Nebraska over their party. The Democrats putting party over country knowing that Ms. Stille has no chance to win are just as bad as the Republican senators who confirmed unqualified nominees to lead vital agencies out of loyalty to party.

I am running as an independent because I want to give Third District voters a chance to lead America by declaring independence from a two-party system divides and distracts while tech billionaires track everything we do, put cameras on every corner, and store that information in giant data centers while we work harder for less.

No. Our race is different than the senate race where the Democrats decided not to even try because they know their brand is so tarnished in Nebraska.

I want to give Third District residents the opportunity to lead America by rejecting both parties and the corrupt two-party system.

Members of both parties who value their country over their party are supporting our campaign because they are tired of name-calling, and they want a representative who will answer to them rather than to a party boss or to coast donors.

A Republican leader called me a “leftist liberal,” which is both false and redundant. One of Democrat Stille’s supporters called me a, “Republican in disguise.” I want a three-way race so Third District residents are not forced to choose between the lesser of two evils. This time they can vote for an independent veteran with an advanced degree in agricultural law who will fight for them.

I don’t know what a “real Nebraskan” is, but I know this: Democrat or Republican, if that’s your best argument against me, you should quit now and save yourself the embarrassment.

If you think Nebraskans are so stupid that they will vote for a person based on where they were born rather than how well that person will represent them, you underestimate Nebraskans. Nebraskans are smarter than that. Nebraskans are fiercely independent people who sent men like William Jennings Bryan and George Norris to Washington. Nebraskans would rather have a representative who chose to make Nebraska his home and will work for them rather than one who was born here and answers to Mike Johnson or Hakeem Jeffries.

But just for fun let’s review my ties to Nebraska:

·       I first came to Nebraska as an Air Force officer in 1983. I served four years on active duty at Offutt AFB from 1983 to 1987, and for part of that time also served as a Special Asst. U.S. Attorney (federal prosecutor) for Nebraska.. I stayed in Omaha and practiced law for eight more years after leaving active duty. I practiced law during the farm crisis of the late 1980’s. BTW, I am the only veteran in the race.

·       I first saw the Sandhills in 1984 while driving from Offutt to Montana to go fishing with a buddy, and I fell in love with the Sandhills.

·       In 1986, Governor Kerrey honored me as an Admiral in the Nebraska Navy. I have been a Nebraska Admiral for forty years.

·       I attended the First Unitarian Church of Omaha from 1983 to 1995. I was also a member of an Omaha Toastmasters club in during those twelve years, and I was a finalist in several state speech contests. I got married at the First Unitarian Church in Omaha.

·       I took graduate classes in philosophy and logic at UNL during the 1992-1993 school year, commuting from Omaha while also practicing law.

·       I left Nebraska in 1995 and moved to the mountains, where my then wife and I adopted three children. We lived 8,300 feet above sea level. Mountain lions and bears were frequent visitors to our home. There were all sorts of characters living in the national forests that surrounded our community. So, nearly everyone owned firearms, and it was not a political issue.

·       In 1996, my article about the Nebraska National Forest was the cover story in an issue of Camping & RV magazine.

·       I wrote two mysteries published by a subsidiary of Time-Warner. My first mystery, The Fractal Murders, was a Book Sense mystery pick, and part of the story takes place in Nebraska.

·       I took a year off in 2013-2014 to teach at the University of Arkansas School of Law, and during that time I also earned an advanced degree (LL.M.) in agricultural law.

·       I bought my Lemoyne home in 2020 as a second home, thinking that I would retire in the Sandhills someday. But then Covid hit. I loved my home in Lemoyne and began spending more time here. I began teaching karate in Ogallala in February of 2024 so I could give something back and be part of my community.

·       My significant other for the past seven years, Nurse Sheri, is from Crete, Nebraska. She was the Nebraska State Pork Queen.

·       Jerry Kuenning, former President of Nebraska Cattlemen, is one of many Nebraskans who have joined my team. He’s not concerned with where I was born. You shouldn’t be either.

One final comment. About 1/3 of those living in Nebraska right now were not born in Nebraska.

First, it’s not an 80% MAGA district. Second, that’s a loser’s atittude, and I plan to win.

The 243,000 who voted for Adrian last time are not all the same. The one thing they had in common two years ago was they chose Adrian over a Democrat when those were the only candidates with any chance to win. To lump them all together is simplistic and insults their intelligence.

This year voters in the Third District have a third option – an independent veteran with an advanced degree in agricultural law. A man who believes taxing billionaires is not liberal and owning firearms is not conservative.

The two parties and their coastal tech billionaire donors want you to believe an independent rural populist like me can’t win. It’s a psyop intended to make you give up before the election season even begins. They want you to believe you have only two choices and no real power. Don’t fall for it.

Adrian Smith is more vulnerable than ever. 35% of the voters in his party’s primary voted for someone other than him. The number of voters who identify as independents is at a record high. People are done with the 2-party system.

Two years ago, tariffs had not devasted Nebraska’s agricultural sector. Two years ago, an unnecessary war had not driven up prices on diesel or fertilizer. I have traveled this district for thirteen months and listened to people across this district. They see Adrian as a do-nothing congressman whose greatest skill is staying under the radar, but they don’t trust the Democrats. And why should they? The Democratic leader in the senate is from New York. The Democratic leader in the House is from New York, and before that the Democratic leader in the House was from California. And some Democrats take corporate money, too.

We are building a coalition of Reagan / McCain Republicans who don’t recognize their own party. Moderate Democrats tired of coastal party leaders who ignore rural areas. People putting their country and Nebraska over their party. We’re attracting Independents and folks who have just given up.

Nebraskans are smart and independent. They are ready to lead America by declaring independence from business as usual. Cassius Clay (later Ali) was an 8:1 underdog when he beat heavyweight champ Sonny Liston. Together we can take our country back and send a message to both parties that it’s time to stop the nonsense and start working for average Americans.

No. No large corporation will offer me money because I won’t be beholden to anyone. I don’t take money from AIPAC or similar groups either. Although I support unions and have received contributions from union members, I don’t take union PAC money either. Independent means not beholden to any person or organization. We depend entirely on contributions from people like you.

I was asked to consider running as a Democrat and as a Republican. I chose to run as an independent because I don’t want to have to answer to any party bosses or to the big money interests. And running as an independent offers the best way to try to heal the hateful divide that most Nebraskans never wanted in the first place.

That’s like asking, “Are you left handed or do you like turtles?” If you are asking that question, you have fallen into their trap of trying to divide us into two boxes and enrich themselves at our expense while we fight with each other.

I dislike labels such as “liberal” and “conservative.” Trying to describe a human being’s views on a multitude of issues using a single word is absurd. Nebraskans know this. That’s why I chose, “We’re smarter than they think” as my campaign slogan.

One problem with using such labels is that they mean different things to different people. I don’t think raising taxes on billionaires is liberal; I think it’s conservative because it’s how we provide services and balance our budget. I don’t think owning firearms is conservative; I think it’s smart when the nearest deputy might be forty-five minutes away.

Another problem with trying to use a single word to describe a person’s political views is that people can have so-called “liberal” views on some issues and “conservative” views on others.

And yet another problem with these labels is that meaning of those terms changes over time. Adrian Smith voted to add $3.3 trillion to our debt and calls himself a conservative. The words don’t mean what they used to.

Yes, but I was only repeating what Donald Trump, Jr. said on December 22, 2025. He said, “this isn’t the Republican Party anymore. It’s the America First Party. It’s the Make America Great Again Party.”

 He was partly correct. The party that stole the Republican label has no ideological relationship whatsoever to the party of Dwight Eisenhower, Ronald Reagan, Bush 41, Bush 43, or John McCain. And I won’t pretend it does.

I disagree with him on the other part of his statement. It’s the Billionaires First Party. You don’t make America great by adding four trillion dollars to the debt our children must repay, letting Putin walk all over you, doubling the cost of health insurance, and trampling on the Second Amendment.

There is no such thing as “class warfare.” It’s another simplistic term the Epstein class (and the politicians they installed) coined to dumb us down and distract us. Most of them never served in military, much less in an actual war. The politicians and pundits who use that term never tell us how many “classes” there are or what income levels separate each “class.”

One reason our campaign is unique is that I am emphasizing how others misuse language to manipulate us. Taking a position on tax policy does not constitute “warfare.” War involves weapons and death; tax policy does not. They think Nebraskans are not smart enough to understand the difference. I say we are.

I advocate returning to a more progressive tax structure like the tax structure America had under President Eisenhower - a Republican who knew something about  “warfare.” That policy had bipartisan support for decades. It build the Interstate Highway System and a strong middle class.

But if the dividing line for the billionaires screaming “class warfare” is between those with total income exceeding one billion dollars annually and those below that level, I will proudly lead that “class warfare” if that’s what they want to call a tax policy discussion. Because a nation where the highest paid CEO earns in hours what a minimum worker earns in years is not “One nation under God.”

No. I said today’s Republican leaders are not true conservatives. Let me explain:

• True conservatives want a balanced budget. Adrian Smith voted to add $3.3 trillion our debt to fund tax cuts for billionaires, and he cut $1 trillion in Medicaid funds to help make it happen, in a move that will devastate rural hospitals and clinics.

• True conservatives do not appease America’s enemies. President Reagan told Soviet leader Gorbachev to, “Tear down that wall.” Today’s Republican leaders claim to be “tough on defense,” but sit quietly while this administration appeases Russia and turns a blind eye to our allies. They ignore Russian interference in our elections. They remain silent while this administration engages in political theater by sending the National Guard to Portland and does nothing about the fact that China now has the largest maritime fighting force.

• True conservatives believe in limited government. Today’s Republican party – which is not the true Republican party – supports big government and opposes states’ rights. They want the federal government to decide what schools can teach and who can marry. The same Republican politicians who once proclaimed their support for states’ rights now want the federal government to take a larger role in regulating AI, criminal justice, voting laws, and environmental policies. What they really believe in is “Fair weather federalism.”

I am not running against anyone. I am running for America, my neighbors in Lemoyne, my fellow rural Nebraskans, and my three children. Because I believe in what America is supposed to stand for – freedom, equality, democracy, free speech, freedom of religion, reasoned discourse, community, honesty, science, standing up to foreign aggression, taking care of our troops and vets, and the rule of law.

Nebraska Public Media sent out invites in July. Adrian Smith declined. Democrat Stille missed the deadline to respond by several weeks. NPM said I was the only candidate who replied on time. Consequently, NPM has no plans to host a debate.

I can understand Adrian not wanting to defend his record of selling out Nebraskans for his coastal donors. I can’t understand how someone who claims to be capable of representing more than half a million people in Congress can miss a deadline to respond to a debate invitation by weeks.

Nebraskans are independent by nature and few care about my religious or spiritual beliefs. They care about the agricultural economy, rural and small-town life, and healthcare. That said, my father was Jewish and my mother was Baptist. They grounded me to seek my own path, and today I consider myself Unitarian, though I don’t believe a single word can ever describe any person or their beliefs.

Several reasons.

First, the tech billionaires that own the social media platforms don’t need more money.

Second, I don’t want the billionaires that own those platforms to have any more data about our campaign or supporters than is necessary.

Third, I don’t need to. Voters already know that fuel prices are up, fertilizer prices are up, and hospitals and clinics are closing. I don’t need to spend money to remind them of the many problems confronting us. We will win because Solomon and I are going to try to visit every town and city in this vast district.

I generally don’t sign pledges, although I did endorse the proposal to uncap the House of Representatives.

But there are several reasons I rarely sign pledges.

First, some of them are so vague as to be meaningless. For instance, “Do you pledge to support the environment?” I care about our planet and believe we should take care of it, but I won’t sign a blank check to any advocacy group.

Second, even if I agree with a legislative proposal, it might look very different by the time it gets to the floor of the House because of changes sought by lobbyists and approved by party bosses.

Third, as a true independent, I don’t want to answer to a party boss, but I also won’t be owned by any interest group. Independent means independent.

I have three adult children, and I am so proud of them. My partner is from Crete, Nebraska, and was once the Nebraska State Pork Queen. I’m proud of her, too. I have one brother, a fitness trainer. He fell 3,200 feet without a functioning parachute over Weeping Water, Nebraska in 1993, and later wrote a book about it called Gravity Works. I’m proud of him, too.

‍Start by exploring our website. Unlike most campaign websites, it’s not just platitudes. That’s intentional. Get to know Mark, his views on the issues, and why he is running. Then, tell us what you think.

Follow us on social media and encourage others to. Nebraska’s third district is one of the largest congressional districts that is not an at-large district. It contain eighty counties, borders six states, and spans two time zones. So, social media is vital to make sure we reach every corner of the vast third district. We have accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Tik Tok, and we also have a YouTube channel.

·       If you use Facebook, invite ALL your friends to follow our campaign.

·       Like, comment, and share our social media posts now and then.

‍Subscribe to Our YouTube Channel.  @MarkForNebraskaCampaign

‍Tell Your Friends.

Write a Letter to the Editor of Your Local Paper. If you are not sure who to contact or want help, contact us.

Display Our Yard Signs or Wear a Button. If you want a yard sign, button, or palm cards, reach out to us.

‍Volunteer. There are 80 counties in this district. We need eyes and ears in each one. We need help with social media, organization, communications, research, and fundraising. Tell us about your skills, and we’ll find a role for you.

‍Host on Event. If you can find a venue and get some folks to attend, that’s all we need. Email us at info@markfornebraska.org

‍Donate. Every dollar helps. Go to: https://politics.raisethemoney.com/en/mark-for-nebraska

‍Don’t believe the hype. The pundits will tell you an independent can’t win, the incumbent has too much money, blah, blah, blah. They want us to believe we are powerless, but 650,000 people live in NE-03. If each resident donates one dollar that’s $650,000.00. History is filled with examples of conventional wisdom being wrong. It was only about five hundred years ago that most people believed the sun revolved around the Earth. The so-called experts who assert it’s impossible display a loser’s attitude. As Mark says, “I’m teaching my students to be winners.”

‍Reach out to us with suggestions.‍‍