Jury Finds NE GOP Guilty Of Defaming Legislative Candidate In 2020

A jury has found that the Nebraska Republican Party defamed one of its own candidates during an ugly legislative race five years ago and ordered it to pay her $500,000. The jury sided Friday with Janet Palmtag, who sued after the Nebraska GOP sent out campaign mailers in October 2020 attacking her. The mailers highlighted a schism in the party. They falsely claimed Palmtag had been charged with mishandling business trust accounts and had lost her Iowa real estate license. At the time, Palmtag was challenging fellow Republican and then-state Sen. Julie Slama of Peru. Palmtag lost to Slama, an appointee of former Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts. The state party says it's investigating whether to appeal.