In the Dumpster fire that is the Senate race in Nebraska, Chris Janicek was in the Panhandle campaigning. (That is unusual; the only people in either party who ever campaign here, or even visit here, are those running for local office here. The last time we had a statewide anybody in the Panhandle was when Governor Ricketts came to my village to view the total eclipse … he never met anyone in town, going to a friend’s ranch north of town the day before. He left without greeting anyone as soon as the eclipse was over.)

Janicek spent the latter half of the week touring western Nebraska in a bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse. But Janicek is traditionally campaigning while running a very untraditional campaign. His uphill battle to kick Sasse out of Washington D.C. includes more hurdles than the numerical reality of Republican majority in Nebraska.

“I’d probably run as something else, but all those seats are taken,” Janicek told the Star-Herald in a interview Friday, Sept. 18.

Nebraska Democrats are few and far between. According to the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office, just 29% of the state’s registered voters are Democrats, compared to 47% registered Republicans.

If that weren’t enough, Janicek is also running without the support of his party.

After Janicek won the party’s nomination, he sent a text message to a group chat explaining he’d been in an argument with a female staffer. In the message, Janicek wondered if the campaign should spend funds toward “getting her laid,” and made crude comments about group sex.

“I made a huge mistake in sending that text message,” Janicek said. “It was a stupid mistake and I owned it immediately.”

Janicek told the Star-Herald the female staffer accepted his apology shortly after the message happen. Despite Janicek’s claim, the Nebraska Democratic Party (NDP) withdrew its support and resources from Janicek’s campaign and demanded that he withdraw from the race, citing the text message.

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Chris Janicek tours western Nebraska amid bid to unseat Ben Sasse