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Pillen signs JD Vance's Pledge to Protect Americans from Fraud
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN): On Oct. 15, Gov. Jim Pillen signed onto Vice President JD Vance’s Pledge to Protect Americans from Fraud.
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Republican · 3 November 2026
Adrian Smith
U.S. Representative for Nebraska's 3rd congressional district (since 2007)
Adrian Smith, a Republican who has represented Nebraska's 3rd congressional district since 2007 and chairs the Ways and Means trade subcommittee, faces Democrat Becky Stille in his 2026 bid for reelection.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Adrian Smith.
Latest coverage
Live News
Recent media coverage for Adrian Smith.
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Rep. Adrian Smith introduces bill to penalize colleges that allow athletes with gambling violations to compete
Representative Adrian Smith (NE-03) has introduced legislation to penalize colleges that allow student-athletes with gambling violations to compete.
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House Republicans Race for Ways and Means Chair
The race for the Republican chairmanship of the House Ways and Means Committee is already under way, with two main contenders: Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE) and Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL).
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IL Corn Thanks Illinois Delegation for Supporting Biofuel Demand
The Illinois Corn Growers Association (ICGA) acknowledges Illinois lawmakers who supported biofuel policy, including Rep. Adrian Smith (R-NE).
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LaHood -
Ways & Means next Republican gavel race underway
Smith has met with multiple House GOP Steering Committee members to discuss a future bid for the gavel, signaling a serious long-term objective.
No story this week names this candidate.
- Born
- December 19, 1970
- Birthplace
- Scottsbluff, Nebraska
- Education
- Gering High School (1989)
Liberty University
University of Nebraska-Lincoln (1993)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Adrian Smith, whose full name is Adrian Michael Smith, was born on December 19, 1970, in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, and moved with his family at a young age to a rural neighborhood south of Gering.
After graduating from Gering High School in 1989, he attended Liberty University before transferring to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln midway through his second year, graduating in 1993.
As a student there he interned in the Nebraska Governor's Office and later served as a legislative page in the Nebraska Legislature.
Career
Smith returned to Gering after college and began serving on the Gering City Council in 1994, while also working in the private sector as a realtor and marketing specialist for the housing industry.
In 1998 he defeated incumbent State Legislator Joyce Hillman, 55% to 45%, to win the 48th district seat in the Nebraska Legislature, which he held from 1999 to 2007.
In the Legislature he was vice chair of the Transportation and Telecommunications committee and of the Military and Veterans' Affairs Committee.
When three-term incumbent Tom Osborne left the 3rd district seat in 2006 to run for governor of Nebraska, Smith won a five-candidate Republican primary with 39% of the vote and defeated Democrat Scott Kleeb, 55% to 45%.
He was reelected in each election from 2008 to 2024, running unopposed in both the primary and the general election in 2016 and taking 80% of the vote against Democrat Daniel Ebers in 2024. Smith became dean of Nebraska's congressional delegation in 2022 following Jeff Fortenberry's resignation.
He sits on the Committee on Ways and Means, where he chairs the Subcommittee on Trade, and he co-chairs the Congressional Rural Caucus and chairs the Modern Agriculture Caucus.
2026 race
Adrian Smith is seeking reelection in Nebraska's 3rd congressional district, which covers most of the rural central and western part of the state, including Grand Island, Kearney, Hastings, North Platte, Alliance and Scottsbluff.
He won 80.4% of the vote there in 2024 and is again the Republican nominee after a 2026 primary in which farmer and restaurant owner David Huebner also ran. His Democratic opponent in the general election on November 3, 2026, is Becky Stille.
The ballot also includes David Else of the Legal Marijuana Now Party, Macey Budke of the Nebraska Working People Party, and independent Mark Cohen, a former U.S. Air Force attorney.