The polls have closed in Nebraska where former President Donald Trump isn’t on the ballot, but he is front and center in a high-profile and combative Republican primary for governor.

In Nebraska’s three-way fistfight for the GOP gubernatorial nomination, Trump is backing Charles Herbster, a multimillionaire agricultural executive, in the race to succeed term-limited Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts. 

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The large Republican field also includes multimillionaire hog farmer and University of Nebraska Regent Jim Pillen, who is backed by Ricketts, as well as many others in the state’s GOP establishment, and state Sen. Brett Lindstrom, who enjoys the support of moderate Republicans and cross-over Democrats.

Herbster, who in recent weeks has faced accusations that he sexually assaulted eight women – including a state senator – is a longtime top Trump donor and ally. 

The former president endorsed Herbster last autumn and held a rally with the candidate in Nebraska nine days ago.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Charles Herbster speaks while former President Donald Trump stands by, at a Trump rally in Greenwood, Nebraska on May 1, 2022 
(Save America PAC )

Trump described Herbster “a good man” at the May 1 rally. Pointing to the allegations of sexual misconduct that the candidate has denied, the former president argued that Herbster had been “maligned.”

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And Trump called Herbster “a die-hard MAGA champion” during a tele-rally last Thursday, and the former president charged that Pillen and Lindstrom were “Republicans in name only.”

FILE – Nebraska Republican gubernatorial candidate Jim Pillen speaks at the state Capitol, on Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022, in Lincoln, Neb. In Nebraska, the winner of a crowded Republican primary race for governor will be the overwhelming favorite to win in November, and nearly all of the state’s GOP leaders have lined up behind businessman Pillen. (AP Photo/Grant Schulte, File)
(AP )

Ricketts, the co-chair of the Republican Governors Association, last year tried to dissuade Trump from backing Herbster, and in the ensuing months has criticized Herbster as unfit to hold office. And Ricketts, whose wealthy family owns Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs, along with his father – billionaire TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts – have contributed big bucks to an outside group that targeted Herbster in TV ads.

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The group, called Conservative Nebraska, has concentrated its firepower on Lindstrom the past couple of weeks. 

FILE – Nebraska state Sen. Brett Lindstrom of Omaha introduces speaks in Lincoln, Neb., Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2019. In Nebraska, the winner of a crowded Republican primary race for governor will be the overwhelming favorite to win in November 2022. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
(AP )

The group, called Conservative Nebraska, has concentrated its firepower on Lindstrom the past couple of weeks. 

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The winner of the GOP primary will be considered the clear favorite in red Nebraska in November’s general election against state Sen. Carol Blood, who is all but certain to win the Democratic nomination for governor over a little-known candidate.