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Matt Williams (Nebraska)

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Matt Williams
Image of Matt Williams
Prior offices
Nebraska State Senate District 36
Successor: Rick Holdcroft
Predecessor: John Wightman

Elections and appointments
Last election

November 8, 2022

Education

Bachelor's

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Law

University of Nebraska, Lincoln

Personal
Profession
Banker

Matt Williams (Republican Party) was a member of the Nebraska State Senate, representing District 36. He assumed office on January 7, 2015. He left office on January 4, 2023.

Williams ran for election to the University of Nebraska Board of Regents to represent District 7. He lost in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Committee assignments

Note: This membership information was last updated in September 2023. Ballotpedia completes biannual updates of committee membership. If you would like to send us an update, email us at: editor@ballotpedia.org.

2021-2022

Williams was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Williams was assigned to the following committees:

2017 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2017 legislative session, this legislator served on the following committees:

Nebraska committee assignments, 2017
Banking, Commerce and Insurance
Health and Human Services

2015 legislative session

At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, Williams served on the following committees:

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2022

See also: Nebraska State Board of Regents election, 2022

General election

General election for University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 7

Kathy Wilmot defeated Matt Williams in the general election for University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 7 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Kathy Wilmot
Kathy Wilmot (Nonpartisan)
 
54.4
 
39,539
Image of Matt Williams
Matt Williams (Nonpartisan)
 
45.6
 
33,121

Total votes: 72,660
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 7

Matt Williams and Kathy Wilmot defeated Nolan Gurnsey in the primary for University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 7 on May 10, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Matt Williams
Matt Williams (Nonpartisan)
 
45.7
 
22,380
Image of Kathy Wilmot
Kathy Wilmot (Nonpartisan)
 
41.9
 
20,532
Nolan Gurnsey (Nonpartisan)
 
12.4
 
6,079

Total votes: 48,991
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

2018

See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2018

General election

General election for Nebraska State Senate District 36

Incumbent Matt Williams won election in the general election for Nebraska State Senate District 36 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Matt Williams
Matt Williams (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
9,816

Total votes: 9,816
(100.00% precincts reporting)
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Nonpartisan primary election

Nonpartisan primary for Nebraska State Senate District 36

Incumbent Matt Williams advanced from the primary for Nebraska State Senate District 36 on May 15, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
Image of Matt Williams
Matt Williams (Nonpartisan)
 
100.0
 
4,520

Total votes: 4,520
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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2014

See also: Nebraska State Senate elections, 2014

Elections for the Nebraska State Senate took place in 2014. A primary election took place on May 13, 2014. The general election took place on November 4, 2014. The signature filing deadline for challengers wishing to run in this election was March 3, 2014, two days after the statutory deadline, which fell on a Saturday. Incumbents were required to file for election by February 18, 2014, three days after the statutory deadline, which fell on the Saturday prior to Presidents Day. Matt Williams defeated Luis Sotelo in the general election. Both candidates were unopposed in the primary election.[1][2][3]

Nebraska State Senate District 36, General Election, 2014
Party Candidate Vote % Votes
     Independent Green check mark transparent.pngMatt Williams 78% 7,599
     Independent Luis Sotelo 22% 2,148
Total Votes 9,747

Campaign themes

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Matt Williams did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2014

Williams' website highlighted the following campaign themes:[4]

Improve Nebraska's Rural Economy

  • Excerpt: "In the Unicameral, I will focus on policy that will create a positive business climate in our state so our communities can thrive. We need to do everything we can to encourage entrepreneurs in our Nebraska communities to expand and also to attract new businesses to locate to Nebraska."

Control Government Spending

  • Excerpt: "I would continue to ensure taxpayers are respected as future legislative battles over increasing spending develop. Families and small businesses have learned to do more with less, and government – funded by our tax dollars – needs to do the same over the long term. In the Unicameral, I will prioritize spending for essential services, public safety, economic development and education. I will always put the taxpayer first and work to allow your family to keep more of the money you earn. "

Attract Good High-Paying Jobs to Our Communities

  • Excerpt: "We need to support policy initiatives that encourage entrepreneurs to start a business and small businesses to expand. We also need to recruit companies to expand or relocate into our smaller communities by promoting our strong work ethic, skilled labor training and quality of life opportunities."

Ensure Our Children Have Access to a Great Education

  • Excerpt: " I will work hard to make sure Nebraska students have access to a quality education and Nebraska teachers have the tools and support they need to provide a first-rate education. I believe we can identify solutions that don’t lead to increases in property taxes. "

Advocate for Agriculture

  • Excerpt: "As a state senator I would work closely with other leaders to develop emerging market economies, prevent over regulation, and develop policies to encourage the next generation of farmers."

Campaign finance summary


Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.


Matt Williams campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2022University of Nebraska Board of Regents District 7Lost general$444,306 $561,789
2018Nebraska State Senate District 36Won general$155,035 N/A**
2014Nebraska State Senate, District 36Won $139,953 N/A**
Grand total$739,294 $561,789
Sources: OpenSecretsFederal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also: State legislative scorecards and State legislative scorecards in Nebraska

A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Nebraska scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.




2022

In 2022, the Nebraska State Legislature was in session from January 5 to April 20.

Legislators are scored on their stances on conservative fiscal policy.
Legislators are scored on children's issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2021


2020


2019


2018


2017


2016


2015



Endorsements

2014

In 2014, Williams' endorsements included the following:[5]

  • Senator John Wightman
  • Bill Barrett, former Congressman
  • Tom Osborne, former Congressman
  • Howard Lamb, former State Senator
  • Governor Dave Heineman

Personal

Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.

Email editor@ballotpedia.org to notify us of updates to this biography.

Williams and his wife, Susan, have two children.[6]

See also


External links

Footnotes

Political offices
Preceded by
John Wightman
Nebraska State Senate District 36
2015-2023
Succeeded by
Rick Holdcroft (R)


Current members of the Nebraska State Senate
Leadership
Senate President:John Arch
Senators
District 1
District 2
District 3
District 4
District 5
District 6
District 7
District 8
District 9
District 10
District 11
District 12
District 13
District 14
John Arch (R)
District 15
District 16
District 17
District 18
District 19
Rob Dover (R)
District 20
District 21
District 22
District 23
District 24
District 25
District 26
District 27
District 28
District 29
District 30
District 31
District 32
District 33
District 34
District 35
Dan Quick (D)
District 36
District 37
District 38
District 39
District 40
District 41
District 42
District 43
District 44
District 45
District 46
District 47
District 48
District 49
Republican Party (33)
Democratic Party (14)
Nonpartisan (2)