John Peter Ricketts
Republican junior Senator of Nebraska
Senator
Nebraska
January 23, 2023 - November 5, 2024
1
Congresses Served
1
Senate Terms
August 19, 1964 (60 years old)
Birthday
- Served as the 40th governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023
- Became the junior United States senator from Nebraska in 2023
- Eldest son of Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade
- Part owner of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs
- Unsuccessfully ran for the U.S. Senate in 2006
- Won the Nebraska gubernatorial election in 2014 and was reelected in 2018
- Approved various budgets and tax cuts as governor
- Firm supporter of capital punishment; oversaw Nebraska’s first execution since 1997 in 2018
- Appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2023 to fill a vacancy
- Seeking election to complete the term in the 2024 special election and intends to seek a full term in 2026
- Worked in executive positions at TD Ameritrade and was COO during his father’s tenure as CEO
- Co-founded the Platte Institute for Economic Research, a “free market think tank”
- Involved in sports, specifically with the Chicago Cubs, and has a 2016 World Series title
- Advocated for tax reductions, opposed Medicaid expansion under the ACA, and opposed increasing the state’s minimum wage during his gubernatorial campaign
- Signed legislation to create commemorative certificates of nonviable birth and various property and tax relief bills
- Opposed federal COVID-19 relief conditions requiring mask mandates in local government offices
- Supports a total ban on abortion with no exceptions for rape or incest
- Supported an initiative to ban affirmative action in Nebraska
- Opposes critical race theory, describing it as divisive and “Marxist”
- Criticized the impeachment of Donald Trump, calling it a “partisan impeachment parade”
- Opposes legalization of medicinal cannabis and has made controversial statements regarding its dangers
- Opposed the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan and supports the Keystone XL Pipeline
- Designated Nebraska as a “sanctuary state” for the Second Amendment
- Proponent of fiscal conservatism and tax cuts, signed legislation providing significant tax relief as governor
- Catholic, member of the Knights of Columbus and a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre