Joe Kelly (Nebraska)

Joe Kelly

Republican Party

Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

Tenure

2023 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

1

Predecessor

Mike Foley

Prior offices

Lancaster County Attorney

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Report an officeholder change

Compensation

Base salary

$75,000

Elections and appointments

Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Nebraska, Lincoln, 1978

Law

University of Nebraska, 1981

Personal

Profession

Attorney

Contact

Official website

Personal LinkedIn

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Joe Kelly (Republican Party) is the Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. He assumed office on January 5, 2023. His current term ends on January 7, 2027.

Kelly (Republican Party) ran for election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Kelly was elected lieutenant governor on November 8, 2022, defeating Al Davis (D) and Jason Blumenthal (L) with 59.2% of the vote. He ran on the same ticket as Jim Pillen (R). In Nebraska, the lieutenant governor presides over the legislature, is the governor's successor in case of a vacancy, and serves as acting governor when the governor is out of state.

Kelly was born in 1956 in Lexington, Nebraska. He received a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nebraska in 1978 and a J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law in 1981. Kelly served in the Nebraska Army National Guard from 1979 to 1986.

Kelly's work experience included serving as a criminal prosecutor and county attorney in the Lancaster County Attorney's Office; working as an associate with Berniger, Berg, and Diver in Colorado Springs, Colorado; and serving as the chief of the Criminal Bureau in the Nebraska Attorney General's Office. In 2018, former President Donald Trump (R) appointed him as the United States Attorney for Nebraska. He served in that role until 2021.

During the gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election in 2022, Kelly said he would serve the lieutenant governor office like a prosecutor: "Take the facts as they are, don’t embellish and up-persuade from the point." He also said that he and Pillen "share a passion for recruiting and retaining young people and graduates of traditional colleges, community colleges and trade schools who will raise their families here."

Following 2023, the Pillen-Kelly administration said it had improved infrastructure, education, and public safety, and had worked to reduce government spending and property taxes. It outlined additional priorities, including, improvements in higher education and broadband technology as well as preventing China, Iran, and North Korea from doing business or buying land in Nebraska.

Biography

Joe Kelly earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1978 and a law degree from the University of Nebraska in 1981. Kelly's career experience includes working as the chief deputy county attorney of Lancaster County, Nebraska.

Elections

2022

See also: Nebraska gubernatorial and lieutenant gubernatorial election, 2022

General election

General election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

Joe Kelly defeated Al Davis and Jason Blumenthal in the general election for Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joe Kelly (R)	59.2	398,334
		Al Davis (D)	36.0	242,006
		Jason Blumenthal (L)	3.9	26,455
		Other/Write-in votes	0.9	5,798

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 672,593
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Joe Kelly did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

External links

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Officeholder

Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska

Website

Personal

LinkedIn

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by Mike Foley (R)	Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska 2023-Present	Succeeded by -
Preceded by -	Lancaster County Attorney 2011-2019	Succeeded by -