Pete Ricketts is the current Governor of Nebraska State of the United States of America. He represents the Republican Party. Ricketts succeeded Dave Heineman and swore an oath as Governor on January 8, 2015.
Early Life and Education
Pete Ricketts was born on August 19, 1964. Pete was born and raised in Nebraska City and he currently lives in Omaha.
Pete graduated from Westside high school situated in Omaha before joining the University of Chicago for his Undergraduate and graduate studies. He completed his B.A. in Biology and MBA in marketing and finance.
Personal Life
Pete is the third child to his father Joe Ricketts and mother Marlene. His siblings are Todd Ricketts, Thomas Ricketts and Laura Ricketts. Ricketts Siblings are the owners of the Chicago Cubs, an American Baseball Team. And, Pete’s father is one of the founders of an American broker company, TD Ameritrade.
Pete is married to Susanne Shore with three children: Roscoe, Margot and Eleanor. Ricketts and Susanne have been married for 19 years.
Career
Prior to joining the US politics, Ricketts held various positions in the education sector. For instance, he was Chairman of the Board of Platte Institute for Economic Research and a member of the Board of Trustees of American Enterprise Institute. Likewise, he presently holds the position of a board member at the Bellevue University and Chicago Clubs.
Although Ricketts had been an active Republican member since long, he formally got into the American politics in 2006 by running for the US Senate. Ricketts’ campaign was very high-profile and ridiculously extravagant. Reportedly, he spent more money than any candidates in Nebraska’s history. Important political figures like George Bush and Dick Cheney also supported Ricketts’ Nebraska campaign. Unfortunately, although he won the Republican nomination, he lost the finals against Democrat candidate Ben Nelson with just about 36%.
Pete Ricketts made a striking return to the US politics in 2014 by bidding for the position of Governor of Nebraska. Endorsed by Sarah Palin and incumbent Governor Kay Orr, Ricketts received the Republican nomination and faced Democrat Chuck Hassebrook. He won the seat with 58% votes in favor. Pete officially assumed the office on January 8, 2015.
One of the most important tasks Rickett administration did was holding a referendum on whether Nebraska should keep capital punishment. 61.2% voters favored capital punishment. Likewise, Ricketts’ tenure also passed the bills to provide licenses to illegal people in the US as per Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals. Also, Nebraska saw a tax rise on petroleum products. Moreover, Nebraska is currently growing at a rate of 2.23% per annum and its Gross Domestic Product is at an all-time high.
Trump and Ricketts
US President Donald Trump and Nebraskan Governor Pete Ricketts resemble each other on their stands on various economic and political issues. They both agree on immigration reforms, ties with the foreign nations and policies on abortion. Likewise, as Republicans, they seem to be supporting each other so far. In fact, Ricketts family donated a million dollars to Trump’s MAGA PAC.
