LINCOLN — Former State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks announced her 2026 candidacy Friday to return to the Nebraska Legislature, a day after the current officeholder said she would not seek reelection. State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln announced her decision not to run again Thursday, leaving the central Lincoln seat open, as first reported by the Nebraska Examiner.

Just 24 hours later, Pansing Brooks “enthusiastically” threw her hat in the ring with Raybould’s support, one of more than 70 current and former officials to endorse Pansing Brooks. “People keep calling me saying, ‘What should I do?’” Pansing Brooks told the Examiner. “And I keep thinking, ‘Well, what should I do to help this country right now?’ The main thing that I know that I can do is run for office.”

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