Nebraska Democrats cut ties with their Senate nominee after he harasses female staffer in group text: report

On Tuesday, The Associated Press reported that the Democratic Party of Nebraska is severing ties with their 2020 Senate nominee over lewd remarks he made about a female staffer in a group text.

Chris Janicek, a small businessman who runs a cupcake bakery in Omaha, will reportedly no longer receive resources from the state party after a unanimous vote of the executive committee.

"The text messages, which were obtained by The Associated Press, were from a group chat involving Janicek and five other people, including the female staffer. At one point, he wrote that he had argued with her and then asked whether the campaign should spend money on 'getting her laid,'" reported Grant Schulte. "'It will probably take three guys,' he wrote, before describing in graphic detail an imagined group sex scene involving the female staffer."

Janicek initially said the comments were meant as a "joke," before issuing an apology to his staff, saying, "I'm going on no sleep and a bunch of exuberant excitement and I think I was out of line." The woman he had spoken about wrote, "There is zero tolerance for what you said," and says she can no longer support his campaign.

Janicek is running against Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who is seeking a second term in 2020.

The race was already not considered to be high on the list of priorities for Senate Democrats, as Nebraska is solidly red at the federal level, although the state has attracted some interest because it awards its electors by congressional district and the Omaha-based 2nd District is a potential electoral vote for Democrats.