Robert J. Krist (born March 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the Nebraska State Senator from the 10th district from 2009 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party until 2017, his district includes

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

and part of

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest city ...

. Krist joined the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

in 2018; he was its nominee for

Governor of Nebraska The governor of Nebraska is the head of government of the U.S. state of Nebraska as provided by the fourth article of the Constitution of Nebraska. The officeholder is elected to a four-year term, with elections held two years after presidential e ...

in the 2018 election.

Personal life

Krist was born in

Omaha, Nebraska Omaha ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Nebraska and the county seat of Douglas County. Omaha is in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's 39th-largest cit ...

. In 1980, he married Margaret Mary O'Connor."Biography".Nebraska Legislature.
Retrieved May 19, 2017.
Archived February 2, 2017.
/ref>

Education

Krist graduated with honors from

Creighton Preparatory School Creighton Preparatory School (simply referred to as Creighton Prep or Prep) is a private, Jesuit high school for boys in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. It was established in 1878 under the name Creighton College and is located in the Roman Cath ...

in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1975. He attended the

University of St. Thomas St. Thomas University or University of St. Thomas may refer to: *Saint Thomas Aquinas University, Colombia *Saint Thomas Aquinas University of the North, Tucumán province, Argentina *St. Thomas University (Canada), Fredericton, New Brunswick *St. ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in

sociology Sociology is a social science that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. It uses various methods of Empirical ...

in 1979. He obtained a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

degree in business administration and human relations from

Webster University Webster University is a private university with its main campus in Webster Groves, Missouri. It has multiple branch locations across the United States and countries across Europe, Asia, and Africa. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs ...

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

in 1982.

Military career

Krist served in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from 1979 to 2000 and retired as a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

.Nebraska Blue Book 2014-15
p. 292. Nebraska Legislature website. Retrieved November 27, 2017. During his stint in the Air Force, Krist held key leadership positions directing critical missions including the high visibility Looking Glass mission at

Offutt Air Force Base Offutt Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force base south of Omaha, adjacent to Bellevue in Sarpy County, Nebraska. It is the headquarters of the U.S. Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM), the 557th Weather Wing, and the 55th Wing (55 WG) of the Air ...

Bellevue, Nebraska Bellevue ( French for "beautiful view"; previously named Belleview) is a suburban city in Sarpy County, Nebraska, United States. It is part of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area, and had a population of 64,176 as of the 2020 Census, m ...

. He scheduled operations and flew missions on the Looking Glass EC-135 aircraft, which was the

Airborne Command Post The Post Attack Command and Control System (PACCS) was a network of communication sites (both ground and airborne) for use before, during and after a nuclear attack on the United States. PACCS was designed to ensure that National Command Authorit ...

for

Strategic Air Command Strategic Air Command (SAC) was both a United States Department of Defense Specified Command and a United States Air Force (USAF) Major Command responsible for command and control of the strategic bomber and intercontinental ballistic missile ...

.Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame
''Nebraska Department of Aeronautics website''. Retrieved February 21, 2015. Among other operations, Krist served in both

Operation Desert Shield The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a Coalition of the Gulf War, 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Ba'athist Iraq, ...

and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

. In 1998, he was chosen as an Active Duty Air Force Advisor to then-Nebraska Governor

Ben Nelson Earl Benjamin Nelson (born May 17, 1941) is an American attorney, businessman, and politician who served as the 37th governor of Nebraska from 1991 to 1999 and as a United States Senator from Nebraska from 2001 to 2013. He is a member of the Demo ...

and the Adjutant General of Nebraska. In 2014, Krist was inducted into the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame. In 2017, the

Secretary of State of Nebraska The secretary of state of Nebraska is one of the constitutional officers of the U.S. state of Nebraska. In Nebraska, the secretary of state is elected for a four-year term. Vacancies are filled by appointment by the governor of Nebraska. The cu ...

, John Gale, appointed him to serve on the Honor a Veteran Honorary Steering Committee.Honor a Veteran Honorary Steering Committee
Nebraska Secretary of State website. Retrieved March 21, 2017.

Nebraska Legislature

Krist was appointed to the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators", the Nebraska Legislature is the small ...

by Governor

Dave Heineman David Eugene Heineman (born May 12, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 39th governor of Nebraska from 2005 to 2015. A member of the Republican Party, he previously was the 39th treasurer of Nebraska from 1995 to 2001 and 37th lieu ...

on September 11, 2009, to replace Senator Mike Friend. He won election to the office in 2010 and was reelected in 2014. Krist represented the 10th Legislative District, an area encompassing some of the northwest portion of

, the entire city of

and a north-central portion of Douglas County. In 2015, senators elected him Chairman of the Executive Board of the Legislative Council and he also served as Chairman of the Referencing Committee. His standing committee assignments in the Legislature include the Judiciary Committee, the Agriculture Committee, and the General Affairs Committee. He also serves on the Rules Committee and the Justice Reinvestment Oversight Committee.State Senator Bob Krist profile
Nebraska Legislature website. Retrieved March 21, 2017.

2018 gubernatorial campaign

In 2017, Krist expressed interest in running for the governorship of Nebraska in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

. He initially indicated that he might run against incumbent

Pete Ricketts John Peter Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is an American politician serving as the 40th governor of Nebraska since 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party. Ricketts is the son of Joe Ricketts, founder of TD Ameritrade. He is also, with oth ...

in the Republican primary. In July 2017, he stated that he would run as a third-party candidate and that he would remain a Republican until the end of his term in the Nebraska Legislature. In September 2017, Krist announced his candidacy; he stated that he would change his party registration to "nonpartisan" later that day. In February 2018, he changed his registration to the Democratic Party and said he would run for that party's gubernatorial nomination. Krist won the primary election on May 15, 2018, defeating two other candidates. He was defeated in the general election on November 6, 2018 by Ricketts, with 41% of the vote against Ricketts's 59%.

Occupation

Krist is currently the Contract Manager for the

United States Army Corps of Engineers , colors = , anniversaries = 16 June (Organization Day) , battles = , battles_label = Wars , website = , commander1 = ...

Northwest Division Aviation Program. He has served as a pilot since 2000 and the Chief Pilot since 2002. The Division Aircraft is based at Offutt Air Force Base in the Omaha District and also services the

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous co ...

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

and

Walla Walla, Washington Walla Walla is a city in Walla Walla County, Washington, where it is the largest city and county seat. It had a population of 34,060 at the 2020 census, estimated to have decreased to 33,927 as of 2021. The population of the city and its two su ...

districts.US Army Corps of Engineers Northwestern Division
Retrieved October 1, 2009.

Electoral history

2018

References

External links

Official Nebraska Legislature profile
wit
Unicameral Update newsBob Krist for Governor
campaign website *
Financial information
at

OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP). ...

"Sen. Krist ready to soar to new heights"

Unicameral Update
' ''Nebraska Legislature website'', November 10, 2009

''

Lincoln Journal-Star The ''Lincoln Journal Star'' is an American daily newspaper that serves Lincoln, Nebraska, the state capital and home of the University of Nebraska. It is the most widely read newspaper in Lincoln and has the second-largest circulation in N ...

'', AP, September 11, 2009
"Bill: Cancer study will use Nebraska vets"
''

'', Nancy Hicks, February 3, 2010
"Nebraska budget bills advance in the Legislature"
''

'', JoAnne Young, March 18, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Krist, Bob 1957 births 21st-century American politicians Living people Nebraska Democrats Nebraska Independents Nebraska Republicans Nebraska state senators Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska Recipients of the Air Medal Candidates in the 2018 United States elections