NDP Press Release – NDP and WFP Statement on Nebraska Working People Party Litigation
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 10, 2026
José Flores, Jr., Communications Director, jose@nebraskademocrats.org
National Working Families contacts: rmangla@workingfamilies.org and jdinkin@workingfamilies.org
***Nebraska Democratic Party News Press Release for 8-10-2026***
Nebraska Democratic Party and National Working Families Party Joint Statement on Nebraska Working People Party Litigation
LINCOLN, Neb. — The Nebraska Democratic Party (NDP) and the national Working Families Party (WFP) today filed a motion for a temporary restraining order and temporary injunction in Lancaster County District Court to stop Secretary of State Robert Evnen from certifying the so-called “Working People Party” (WPP) as a political party in Nebraska, or from accepting candidate filings under its name.
“This isn’t a political party – it’s a con job cooked up by right-wing dark money and a sore-loser candidate to trick Nebraska voters and hand Pete Ricketts an easier path to reelection,” said Jane Kleeb, Chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party. “Working people in Nebraska know who’s actually fighting for them, and it’s not a fake party built on stolen branding and Republican signature gatherers.”
According to the filing, WPP was formed by Robin Richards, a repeat candidate who has twice failed to win the NDP’s nomination for the legislature, missed the filing fee for primary ballot access, lost a write-in bid, and then endorsed her district’s Republican candidate.
The suit alleges WPP’s name was designed to mislead voters in two ways: by mimicking the Working Families Party’s name – in likely violation of Nebraska law barring new parties from using words already claimed by an existing party – and by echoing the “working people deserve a seat at the table” message central to independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn’s campaign.
The complaint cites a paid, out-of-state WPP petition circulator who was recorded telling a prospective signer the party would “take votes away from the Democrats,” as well as an open letter from Nebraska’s AFL-CIO-affiliated unions warning that WPP relied on “right-wing Republican signature-gathering firms” and would “split the vote in critical races” to Republicans’ benefit.
“Nebraskans deserve a ballot they can trust, not one gamed by dark-money tricks designed to confuse voters,” Kleeb said. “We’re not going to let Pete Ricketts and his paid allies get away with it.”
The national Working Families Party, which is not currently seeking ballot access in Nebraska, says the WPP name misappropriates decades of its own brand-building and could permanently block WFP from ever registering in the state under its own name.
The lawsuit – filed against Secretary Evnen, Robin Richards, and the Nebraska Working People Party – asks the court to act before the state’s September 14 ballot certification deadline.
NDP and WFP say they reserve the right to challenge WPP’s petition signatures separately.
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