Dave Domina Completes 93 County Tour (Again), Still Shows Up For Nebraska Voters

(OCT. 25)—Following yet another week-long tour of the Panhandle and Western Nebraska, U.S. Senate Candidate Dave Domina announced last week he has now met with voters in all 93 counties, participating in scheduled events in all but a few. And though opponent Ben Sasse often cites the same achievement as justification for skipping a slew of public forums and debates, Domina managed to complete the tour without ducking the public’s requests for his appearance on stage.

“Missing major forums or debates that are televised statewide for the sake of following a schedule to visit all 93 counties makes no sense,” Domina said. “In fact, a strategy to travel and not engage really constitutes hiding out from voters, not reaching out to them.”

An increasingly large number of Nebraska voters have expressed their discontent in the past few weeks with Sasse’s absence from events like the student-sponsored University of Nebraska-Lincoln policy forum, the Nebraska Rural Health Association annual conference, the South Sioux City Chamber of Commerce forum, the Millard High School Political Roundtable, and even this Monday’s Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance forum. Following the “Great Debate” in Hastings last month, which Sasse also skipped, his campaign boasted, “Ben is the only candidate hitting all 93 counties in this campaign,” according the Grand Island Independent.

“As people in rural Nebraska know, the significance of campaigning in every county is more symbolic than anything else. It means a candidate cares,” Domina said. “Caring is not something to boast or brag about. It is, instead, a genuine human concern for the needs, opinions, concerns, and attitudes of Nebraskans everywhere.” Domina continued,”throughout my professional career I have been to all 93 counties many times and it was great to do it again in the past few months.”

More important than visiting all 93 counties, Domina said, he has worked tirelessly to meet with voters from all different ethnic, racial and cultural communities. He attended meetings and events with Nebraska’s Native American community, in addition to African Americans, Latino Americans, Asian Americans, Nigerian Americans, Ghanaian Americans, Americans from South Sudan and more.

“I tried to leave no one out, and allow Nebraskans from all communities, races, national origins, and all walks of life to evaluate me face to face,” Domina said. “While doing so, I kept meetings, attended forums, and missed no debates. Only in McCook, where the candidate exposure time was very brief and there were no questions to be asked was I unable to move my schedule to attend. The sponsors in McCook were informed of this weeks before the event.

“This is what an honorable campaign must be about.”

Domina’s announcement comes amid news that former Massachusetts governor and Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will be flying in to Hastings, Neb., to campaign in Sasse’s support—a move that with just ten days left prior to Election Day many say looks desperate.

“Mr. Sasse can fly in all the celebrity politicians he wants, but Nebraskans are smarter than that,” Domina said. “I don’t want or need Mitt Romney or Sarah Palin or Ted Cruz—any of them. I don’t need anyone from Washington campaigning for me. I’d rather focus on Nebraskans.”