Don Stenberg is a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 politician and attorney

Lawyer

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...

 from Nebraska

Nebraska

Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....

. He served as Attorney General of Nebraska from 1991 to 2003 and currently serves as State Treasurer of Nebraska to which he took office in 2011. He also served as legal counsel to Governor

Governor of Nebraska

The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...

 Charles Thone

Charles Thone

Charles Thone is an American Republican politician.-Biography:Charles Thone was born in Hartington, Nebraska. He has three brothers, including John Jr. He graduated from Holy Trinity High School . During World War II, he served in the Infantry of the United States Army...

 from 1979 to 1983.

Stenberg v. Carhart

Stenberg was the named defendant in the noted Supreme Court abortion case, Stenberg v. Carhart

Stenberg v. Carhart

Stenberg v. Carhart, 530 U.S. 914 , is a case heard by the Supreme Court of the United States dealing with a Nebraska law which made performing partial-birth abortion illegal, except where necessary to save the life of the mother. Nebraska physicians who performed the procedure contrary to the law...

530 U.S. 914 (2000).

Political campaigns

In 1978, Stenberg ran for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska, coming in fourth in the Republican primary. He first ran for Nebraska Attorney General in 1986, but lost the primary by 6 points to Robert M. Spire. Four years later in 1990, he was able to win both the primary and general elections for the same office and was reelected in 1994.

Stenberg first ran for the U.S. Senate

United States Senate

The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...

 in 1996

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 1996

The 1996 United States Senate special election in Nebraska was held on November 5, 1996. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator J. James Exon decided to retire instead of seeking a fourth term...

 to succeed retiring Democratic

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Senator J. James Exon

J. James Exon

John James "Jim" Exon was an American Democratic politician. He served as the 33rd Governor of Nebraska from 1971 to 1979, and as a U.S. Senator from Nebraska from 1979 to 1997. Exon was a Nebraska Democrat who never lost an election, and the only Democrat to hold his Nebraska's Senate Class 2 seat...

. Initially seen as the frontrunner, he lost the Republican primary to business executive Chuck Hagel

Chuck Hagel

Charles Timothy "Chuck" Hagel is a former United States Senator from Nebraska. A member of the Republican Party, he was first elected in 1996 and was reelected in 2002...

 by 25 points. Hagel went on to win an upset against Democratic Governor

Governor of Nebraska

The Governor of Nebraska holds the "supreme executive power" of the State of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Nebraska Constitution. The current Governor is Dave Heineman, a Republican, who assumed office on January 20, 2005 upon the resignation of Mike Johanns . He won a full...

 Ben Nelson

Ben Nelson

Earl Benjamin "Ben" Nelson is the senior U.S. Senator from Nebraska. He is a member of the Democratic Party and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2000....

. After being reelected Attorney General in 1998, Stenberg again ran for the Senate in 2000

United States Senate election in Nebraska, 2000

The 2000 United States election in Nebraska was held on November 7, 2000. Incumbent Democratic U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey decided to retire. Democrat Ben Nelson won the open seat.-Candidates:...

 to succeed retiring Democrat Bob Kerrey

Bob Kerrey

Joseph Robert "Bob" Kerrey was the 35th Governor of Nebraska from 1983 to 1987 and a U.S. Senator from Nebraska . Having served in the Vietnam War, earning the Medal of Honor for his actions, he moved into politics. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1992...

. Winning the primary, he faced Democrat Ben Nelson. In one of the closest elections in Nebraska history, Nelson topped Stenberg by just 2 points, even as Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush

George W. Bush

George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....

 easily won a majority of the popular vote in the state.

Stenberg left office as Attorney General in 2003 and returned to work in the private sector as of counsel

Of counsel

Of counsel is often the title of an attorney who is employed by a law firm or an organization, but is not an associate or a partner. Some firms use titles like "counsel," "special counsel," and "senior counsel" for the same concept...

 at Erickson and Sederstrom, the same firm where his former boss, Charles Thone

Charles Thone

Charles Thone is an American Republican politician.-Biography:Charles Thone was born in Hartington, Nebraska. He has three brothers, including John Jr. He graduated from Holy Trinity High School . During World War II, he served in the Infantry of the United States Army...

, is a partner.

In 2006, Stenberg launched his third bid for the Senate. Once again, an early frontrunner, he came second in the primary to former Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade

TD Ameritrade is an American online broker with over 6 million U.S. customers, and many more internationally, that has grown rapidly through acquisition to become the 746th-largest US firm in 2008. TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation is the owner of TD Ameritrade Inc...

 chief operating officer

Chief operating officer

A Chief Operating Officer or Director of Operations can be one of the highest-ranking executives in an organization and comprises part of the "C-Suite"...

 Pete Ricketts

Pete Ricketts

John Peter "Pete" Ricketts is the former Chief Operating Officer of Ameritrade. He was the Republican nominee for the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Nebraska which he lost to incumbent Ben Nelson.-Biography:...

, with former state Republican chairman

Nebraska Republican Party

The Nebraska Republican Party is the affiliate of the Republican Party in Nebraska. The party is headed by Chairman Mark Fahleson. Its headquarters are in Lincoln.- Political plans :...

 David Kramer

David Kramer

David Kramer is a South African singer, songwriter, playwright and director, most notable for his musicals about the Cape Coloured communities, and for his early opposition to apartheid.-Early life:...

 taking third. Ricketts went on to lose to incumbent Senator Nelson. In 2010, Stenberg ran for Nebraska State Treasurer to succeed retiring Shane Osborn

Shane Osborn

Shane Osborn was the State Treasurer in Nebraska until he was succeeded by Don Stenberg on January 6, 2011....

. He won the primary over state Senator Tony Fulton

Tony Fulton

Tony Fulton is a member of the Nebraska Legislature from Lincoln, Nebraska.Born in Auburn, Nebraska, he graduated from Auburn Senior High School in 1990...

and won the general election. In 2011, he announced his intention to run for the Senate a fourth time for the right to challenge Ben Nelson.

Criticisms

Stenberg has drawn criticism over the years for his use of outside counsel while serving as Nebraska's Attorney General. During his tenure as Nebraska's chief legal officer, the state spent tens of millions of dollars on outside counsel for river and nuclear waste lawsuits. Stenberg has also been questioned for recusing himself from a case involving low level nuclear waste for political reasons. The case cost Nebraska taxpayers $21 million in legal fees.