Thread by @asanderford

Starting today at a presser for @jim_pillen. I’ll try to live tweet it if my service and fingers hold up.

Clearly looks like Pillen is about to pick up the @NEFarmBureau endorsement.

Mark McHargue, president of the @NEFarmBureau, announcing the endorsement. Announcing the Farm Bureau PAC’s endorsement in the Republican gubernatorial primary.

Mark: We don’t take jumping into a Republican primary in the governor’s race lightly. We asked our counties whether they wanted to get involved and, if they did, who they wanted. They said absolutely, and Jim Pillen should be the guy.

Mark: Jim and I are both pork producers. We sat down over a couple of hours over supper. My questions were what makes you tick, what do you value. Jim Pillen is a Nebraskan, and he has deep roots in Nebraska. The fact he comes from agriculture, he clearly gets agriculture.

Mark: The fact that he has a family business, he's grown a family business in Nebraska, our members appreciate that. I appreciate that. You don't have to talk to Jim very long to figure out he's a fiscal conservative. And as a person, I think Jim's a very good listener.

Mark: That's so important, to have someone who's actually listening instead of formulating an answer. Finally, we thought it was very important to have a common-sense Nebraskan.

Mark: As candidate, Jim Pillen knows we need good schools, but we need to take away the overreliance on property tax. We also need to provide an environment for business to grow, and it's impossible to do that without connectivity, whether cellular or broadband.

Mark: He also knows we need to add value to our ag, including sending our products abroad to other markets. He understands ag is the largest part of the state's economy. He understands 25 percent of our workforce is involved in ag.

Mark: And he's committed to building a climate where farmers, ranchers and business operators have the freedom to operate and grow. This is why we believe Jim Pillen is the best candidate for Nebraska's farm and ranch families.

Sherry Vinton of Farm Bureau: We surveyed our members. They overwhelmingly supported him.

Pillen: Thank you very, very much. Your endorsement is a big deal. It's a big, big deal for our campaign and for me personally. "This is one of those days you say holy cow. ... This support is overwhelming." We've worked really really hard meeting Nebraskans across the state.

Pillen: It’s really important for our future generations that we grow agriculture, not just that we survive but that we thrive.

Pillen: Every bushel that we export, every animal that we sell abroad adds value to our ag economy. Getting endorsed by the Farm Bureau is really exciting, because it's grass roots at its finest.

Pillen: I want our communities to turn the tide and start to grow. Ive been in all 93 counties. The risks being taken, the value being added by Nebraskans are incredible.

Q: What distinguishes Jim from Herbster?

A: Our members said Jim was the guy.

Q: What's your first priority as gov for ag?

A: We have to get people together to believe we can compete with anybody in the world.

Q: What about debates?

A: We are participating in forums across this state and talking to Nebraskans. We will get our message out.

(For those following along, everything is a paraphrase unless it's in quotation marks.)

And they're done.

@threadreaderapp Please unroll.