I was reading an article in the Nebraska Examiner the other morning about the race for Nebraska’s Attorney General.

It was an informative piece that mentioned the history and qualifications of each candidate. But there was something Mike Hilgers said at the end of the article that really has me concerned.

The article started innocently enough. The current AG Mike Hilgers talked about the lawsuits he’s been a part of. He’s joined other AG’s in going after companies like Meta, TikTok, and Google. He’s also sued government entities like the state of Colorado over water rights and the Trump Justice Department over reclassifying marijuana.

His challenger, Jocelyn Brashear, promoted her experience working in the AG’s office under Doug Peterson and her current role as Deputy Dodge County Public Attorney.

Hilgers claimed in the article that people aren’t really bringing up to him his attempt to void the will of the people with their vote for medical marijuana. Brashear said that people tell her that his attempt to nullify their vote really is a big deal to them.

In the article, Brashear claimed that Hilgers was using the AG’s office as a political steppingstone and that he shouldn’t be so focused on culture wars.

Hilgers said that if reelected, he would double down on past promises and continue to build on the job he has done so far.

It was a fair article comparing the two candidates. But if someone had been paying attention to the race beforehand, there was little in there they didn’t already know.

Until the end of the story, where Hilgers said something that really got my attention.

His quote was… “You never know what the fight’s gonna be in, say, 2029, but you have to think enough ahead to know what you want to accomplish, and we’ve got a good sense of that.”

Was that a Freudian slip? Why did he specifically say 2029? Was that a dog whistle to the MAGA crowd foreshadowing any legal fight there might be after the 2028 election?

If he said you never know what the fight’s going to be in the future, or in the next four years, that wouldn’t have made my ears perk up. But 2029 was an odd and very specific year that he focused on.

Maybe I’ve watched too many cop dramas on TV. And maybe I’m just paranoid after what happened on January 6th. But you have to ask: what fight in 2029 is he anticipating?

And if there is a legal battle after the 2028 elections, what side will Hilgers be fighting for?

Hilgers has already shown a propensity for not respecting the vote of the people if the outcome is something he doesn’t like. Did he telegraph his future behavior? Did he say the quiet part out loud?

And if Scott Peterson were to win the Secretary of State’s race, I’m not convinced that there won’t be controversy in the outcome of the 2028 elections. Peterson is an election denier who is not qualified for the job.

A combination of Scott Peterson as Secretary of State and Mike Hilgers as Attorney General could indeed wreak havoc and cause chaos after the 2028 election.

I know that the average voter doesn’t pay as close attention to important races like the Attorney General and Secretary of State as they do for the other offices. All of the TV ads for Nebraska candidates are for the Governor, Congressional, and Senate races.

But the future of democracy depends, in many cases, on who we elect for offices like Secretary of State and Attorney General.

I know that if I were to ask Hilgers about his comment, he would just blow it off like it meant nothing. But I’m not sure I believe him.

I think deep down in his psyche he’s already planning on what happens after the 2028 elections.

We would be well served to think about what might happen after the 2028 election as well.

The gateway to that election will depend largely on who we elect in November.

If the voters are informed, they’ll see that Joclyn Brashear is the smart choice.

Joclyn is traveling the state, meeting with voters and telling her story. She is qualified to take on the challenges from 2027 to 2031.

And if 2029 does become a special challenge, I trust her to do the right thing.

Tom Becka is a long time Nebraska broadcaster who for over 30 years has been covering Omaha and Midwest issues on both radio and TV. He has been a guest on numerous national cable and news shows, filled in for nationally syndicated talk radio programs and Talkers Magazine has recognized him as one of the Top 100 talk show hosts in the country 10 times. Never afraid to ruffle some feathers, his ‘Becka’s Beat’ commentaries can be found online on Youtube and other digital platforms.

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