LINCOLN (AP) - Money, money, money.
In what already has become the most expensive race in Nebraska history, millionaire Republican Pete Ricketts is trying to unseat incumbent Democrat Ben Nelson in a contest that could help swing control of the U.S. Senate.
Ricketts, a political newcomer and son of the founder of online brokerage firm Ameritrade, has dumped some $12 million of his own fortune into the campaign.
The candidates' most recent federal filings detailing spending show the two have spent some $14 million - much of it on TV ads.
The previous spending record was set in 1988 when Bob Kerrey, a Democrat and former governor, defeated Republican U.S. Sen. David Karnes in a race where the candidates spent a combined $7 million. That would be equal to an estimated $11.5 million today, based on the Consumer Price Index, which gauges the price of goods and services bought by the public.
Going into the last month of the campaign, Ricketts reported having $1.7 million cash on hand. Nelson had $2.1 million
Ricketts, a former board member and executive for TD Ameritrade, has said he's worth $45 million to $50 million. He has not said how much of that he's willing to spend.
Many thought Nelson caught a break when former Republican Gov. Mike Johanns was picked in late 2004 to become U.S. agriculture secretary. He was widely viewed as the likely - and most formidable - challenger to Nelson.
But Nelson, the only Democrat in Nebraska's congressional contingent, is an imposing political foe in his own right - even in Republican-dominated Nebraska.
Nelson left the governor's office in 1999 after two terms with an 80 percent approval rating and went on to beat Republican Attorney General Don Stenberg in the 2000 Senate race.
Nelson has cast votes with his GOP colleagues more often than any other Democrat now in the Senate, a record that won praise from President Bush last year. Bush called Nelson “a man with whom I can work, a person who's willing to put partisanship aside to focus on what's right for America.” Although close identification with an unpopular president is not a plus these days, Bush's depiction of Nelson as a right-thinking Democrat may have raised questions about how important the seat really is to the GOP.
On the issues, Nelson has rejected calls for a timetable for withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq while Ricketts echoes the Bush administration in saying Iraq is part of the war on terror.
Both have toughened their stands on illegal immigration after Republican Rep. Tom Osborne stumbled in the GOP primary for governor. A key factor in Osborne's loss was Gov. Dave Heineman criticizing him for supporting in-state tuition rates for children of illegal immigrants.
Ricketts says he supports establishing a program to verify illegal immigrants and have them apply to stay in the United States, a process that would include possible fines and tax payments, but not amnesty. Nelson says securing the border should be the top priority in dealing with immigration.
Both have run attack ads.
Ricketts has aired an ad against Nelson that argues, “A Democratic Senate controlled by Hillary Clinton and Ted Kennedy promises an agenda of higher taxes, more government spending and liberal judges. An agenda against our Nebraska values.”
But Nelson's penchant for siding with the GOP on a rash of issues has taken the punch out of the commercial.
Nelson has hammered Rickets for touting a national sales tax.
Ricketts has stressed that he thinks the U.S. tax code needs to be reformed and that all options, including a so-called national sales or consumption tax, need to be part of the debate.
On Social Security, Nelson said he wants to guarantee those benefits that people have already earned but allow people to perhaps put some of the money they pay into the system in 401k plans. He has accused Ricketts of advocating a privatization of the Social Security system.
Ricketts has said that Social Security personal accounts “could be part of the solution.”
Nelson has supported efforts to raise the federal minimum wage to $7.25 from $5.15 over three years.
Ricketts said he would support a minimum-wage increase if there were also a plan to help small businesses.
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