Even a direct mail campaign infused with data from infoUSA's huge warehouses wasn't enough to get Stormy Dean into the governor's office in Nebraska. Incumbent Mike Johanns won re-election yesterday by the second-largest margin of any gubernatorial race in the country, defeating Dean by 42 percentage points.
Dean is chief financial officer at infoUSA.
Johanns was the first Republican governor to win a second term in Nebraska in 46 years. He received 69 percent, or 313,741 votes, while Dean received 125,329 votes, or 27 percent. Nebraska Party candidate Paul Rosberg received 4 percent.
Dean said he had no regrets about the race, according to wire reports. He said he knew he faced a strong incumbent but that his discussions and participation in the race were needed to make the democratic process work.
It didn't help that Dean didn't enter the race until February or that he had never run for a political office before. Also, Johanns received endorsements from the state's leading newspapers, police groups and labor unions, while the state AFL-CIO and the Nebraska State Education Association withheld endorsements that may have helped Dean.
Dean, who has been on a leave of absence since July 1, is expected to return to infoUSA.
