|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Multimedia Central Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities Work in Sports
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE |  |
Another Husker rout Tom Osborne easily wins first public election
Posted: Wednesday May 10, 2000 12:57 AM
ARTHUR, Neb. (AP) -- Former Nebraska football coach Tom Osborne won his first election Tuesday night, handily defeating two Republican challengers in the 3rd Congressional District primary. Osborne received 68 percent of the vote, while North Platte attorney John Gale had 20 percent and state Board of Education member Kathy Wilmot had 12 percent, with 20 percent of precincts reporting. Osborne advanced to the general election where he will face Grand Island Democrat Rollie Reynolds, who was unopposed in the primary. "There's no question I had a name recognition advantage, but as time went on people started to focus on the issues and not who was a football coach and who wasn't," Osborne told about 150 supporters at a party on a 90,000-acre private ranch near Lake McConaughy. Unlike other candidates, who make appearances late in the evening, he was one of the first to arrive at his party and put a name tag on that said, "Tom Osborne." Low-key as he was on the football field, Osborne spent a majority of the evening shaking hands and quietly chatting with supporters. The man who coached the Nebraska football team for 25 years and won three national championships approached his entry into politics much like he did football -- taking nothing for granted. Osborne traveled across the district right up to Tuesday's primary election. Osborne or Reynolds will replace Republican Rep. Bill Barrett, who is retiring after five terms. In a little more than three months as a candidate, the soft-spoken, pragmatic Osborne brought frenzied attention to the race to represent the state's largest, most sparsely populated district. The 66-county area covers 65,000 square miles -- nearly 85 percent of the state's total land mass. It is the nation's largest congressional district that does not cover an entire state. Osborne, 63, entered the House race Jan. 27. The other GOP 3rd District candidates, all long-time district residents, were quick to point out that Osborne had lived in Lincoln, in the 1st District, for decades. Osborne changed his residency to LeMoyne, close to his cabin on Lake McConaughy north of Ogallala. Osborne was born and raised in Hastings, which is in the 3rd District. That was good enough for most voters. Osborne raised three times as much money as his Republican rivals even though he refused to accept checks of more than $300 or any money from political action committees. Most of his campaign contributions were unsolicited. After Osborne announced his candidacy, four 3rd District Republican candidates dropped out. One of those, John Hanson, became Osborne's campaign chairman. Osborne's campaign focused on reviving the farm economy, stopping the migration of young people from rural Nebraska, improving technology in rural areas and promoting youth mentoring programs.
| ||||||||||||||||
