U.S. Senator
Pete Ricketts
Nebraska
RepublicanConservative
Contact
Voting Profile
Legislative Record
Most Active Policy Areas
#1 healthcare#2 other#3 environment energy
43
Votes Analyzed
Data sources: voteview, congress.gov
Political Position
Ideology Spectrum
0.44Conservative
Senator Pete Ricketts holds conservative positions, though his voting record places him slightly to the left of the average Republican senator. His NOMINATE score of 0.437 indicates consistent conservative voting patterns while occasionally diverging from his party's mainstream positions.
LiberalModerateConservative
Republican avg
Near the average for Republicans (0.52)
Data source: VoteView NOMINATE scores (UCLA/UC San Diego)
Policy Positions
Category Breakdown
43
total votes analyzed
Overview
Pete Ricketts joined the U.S. Senate in January 2023 after being appointed to fill a vacancy. As a former two-term Governor of Nebraska, he brought executive experience to the legislative body. His voting record reflects traditional Republican priorities, though he has shown some independence from his party on certain matters. In his relatively short Senate tenure, Ricketts has been most active on healthcare-related legislation, casting 24 votes in this area with a 42% approval rate. This suggests he takes a selective approach to healthcare policy, supporting some measures while opposing others. His voting patterns on environment and energy issues show similar selectivity, with a 40% approval rate across 5 votes. Ricketts has shown strong support for agricultural legislation, voting in favor 67% of the time on farm-related measures—consistent with representing a major agricultural state like Nebraska. His defense voting record shows consistent opposition to the measures that came before him during the recorded period.
Key Positions
- •Selective approach to healthcare legislation with moderate support rate
- •Strong support for agricultural policy measures
- •Support for Social Security-related legislation
- •Generally opposes cloture motions to advance certain Democratic-backed measures
- •More active voting participation in 2025 session
By Policy Area
Healthcare24
42% yea58% nay
Other6
100% yea0% nay
Environment & Energy5
40% yea60% nay
Analysis updated: January 9, 2026
Campaign Finance
Follow the Money
Includes all authorized campaign committees (principal committee, joint fundraising, and other authorized committees). Outside spending by Super PACs and independent groups is shown separately below. Verify on FEC.gov →
Career: $30.6M
Fundraising Over Time
Raised per election cycleSpent
Contribution Sources
Individual$2.2M
24%
PAC / Committees$1.6M
18%
Party Committee$62K
1%
Self-Funded$5.3M
57%
Individual Breakdown
Itemized (>$200)
$2.0M
Small Dollar (<$200)
$232K
Donation Sizes
Under $200
$262K · 6%
$200 – 499
$34K · 1%
$500 – 999
$126K · 3%
$1,000 – 1,999
$434K · 10%
$2,000+
$3.3M · 80%
Share of individual contribution dollars by donation size, current election cycle.
Where the Money Comes From
In-state (NE)$1.5M · 37%
Out-of-state$2.5M · 63%
Itemized individual contributions only (donations over $200 report the donor's state). Small-dollar donations are not included because the FEC does not itemize them.
NE
$1.5M
NY
$258K
IL
$248K
TX
$227K
CA
$205K
FL
$183K
AZ
$125K
VA
$116K
Top Contributors
Top Contributing Industries
Top Donor Employers
RETIRED$358K
PEARSON & ASSOCIATES$236K
HOMEMAKER$103K
HOLTZMAN VOGEL, PLLC$80K
BP$66K
SELF EMPLOYED$55K
SELF$47K
GREENAMERICAN BIOFUELS$39K
ANTHROPIC$35K
S-3 GROUP$35K
U.S. TRAVEL ASSOCIATION$30K
MARQUIS MANAGEMENT, INC.$25K
Employer as self-reported by itemized donors. “Not Employed” and “Self-Employed” typically rank highest for small-dollar campaigns and include retirees.
Where the Money Goes
Spending by Purpose
Advertising
$2.3M
Other / Uncategorized
$2.2M
Administrative
$191K
Refunds
$72K
Fundraising
$46K
Materials
$5K
Travel
$1K
Purpose categories are self-reported on FEC filings; large “Other” totals are common.
Top Payees
1.$2.2M
AXMEDIA
2.$275K
AXIOM STRATEGIES
3.$209K
JBEST & COMPANY
4.$168K
FUNDRAISING, INC.
5.$152K
WALDRON, CORBEN
6.$147K
SOCKO STRATEGIES LLC
7.$143K
ADP
8.$141K
THE PROSPER GROUP
Detailed Breakdown
Expenditures
Operating Costs
$4.7M
Operating Offsets
$15K
Net Operating
$4.7M
Refunds
Individual Refunds
$22K
Committee Refunds
$51K
Outside Spending (Super PACs)
Supporting
$587K
Opposing
$431.09
Total Outside Spending
$587K
Top Outside Spenders
01
$450KUSA SUPER PAC
+$450K
02
$82KSLF PAC
+$82K
03
$18KNATIONAL RIGHT TO LIFE VICTORY FUND
+$18K
04
$17KNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE
+$17K
05
$11KNATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND
+$11K
06
$5KCLUB FOR GROWTH PAC
+$5K
07
$5KNEBRASKA REPUBLICAN PARTY
+$5K
08
$431.09INDIGO PAC
-$431.09
Independent expenditures are made without coordination with the candidate. Source: FEC Schedule E filings.
Coverage: 1/1/2025 – 6/30/2026FEC: S6NE00129Updated: 8/12/2026Source: FEC.gov (all authorized committees)
Voting Record
Congressional Votes
31 votes across 7 categories