Mark Cohen has launched an exploratory committee to consider an independent U.S. House bid in Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District. (Courtesy of Mark Cohen)
LINCOLN — Lemoyne resident Mark Cohen has launched an exploratory committee to consider an independent bid for Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District against U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith in the 2026 midterms.
The state’s 3rd Congressional District includes central and western Nebraska and much of the state’s northeastern and southeastern edges. It’s one of the nation’s most conservative congressional districts by political party registration advantage and voting record.
Smith, who was first elected to Congress in 2006, already faces a Republican primary challenger, former U.S. Border Patrol agent David Huebner. Democrat Becky Stille is also running for the Democratic nomination.
“I love my country, and I’m fed up with a two-party system that forces voters to choose between extremists,” Cohen said in a statement.
The former Air Force Judge Advocate and karate instructor, said he was a Democrat until three years ago but left because he got “tired of people in big cities trying to set policy for rural areas on issues like firearms” and said, “Some Democratic leaders have largely abandoned moderates, because extremists and interest groups dominate the agenda and the funding.”
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Cohen’s campaign website states that he supports responsible gun rights, legalizing and regulating marijuana, and preserving the earth’s habitability. He also wants to “require paper ballots in every election,” as “electronic voting machines scare” him, and says he believes in regulated capitalism. He also says today’s Republicans “are not conservatives.”
“They call themselves fiscal conservatives, but they cut taxes for the rich and balloon the deficit for our children … They say they believe in limited government yet want to regulate almost everything at the federal level now that they’re in power.”
Smith campaign spokesman Chris Peterson said Smith’s “conservative record reflects the priorities” of the 3rd District.
“Congressman Adrian Smith is a proven and trusted conservative fighting for Nebraskans alongside President Trump to secure the border and stop illegal immigration,” he said.
Cohen’s possible bid comes as former Omaha labor leader Dan Osborn is running his second U.S. Senate bid as a nonpartisan candidate — this time against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts. Populism, the political approach of appealing to ordinary people by saying their concerns have been ignored by the financial and political elites, is a driving force in modern politics.
Cohen said the state’s 3rd District voters know “not all Democrats are socialists and not all Republicans are fascists.”
“They yearn for a plain-speaking populist … a Harry Truman,” Cohen said.
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