Schoenrock To Run For Nebraska Legislature
By Gordon Hopkins
Long-time Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock officially announced his candidacy for the Nebraska Legislature, representing District 312, at a campaign event Thursday morning, June 12, 2025, at On the Bricks Venue in Fairbury.
Legislative District 32 comprises all of Jefferson, Saline, Thayer, Fillmore and a portion of Lancaster County.
Schoenrock outlined his priorities in a press release, “As a Senator, Schoenrock is a committed Conservative Republican who will work to fix our broken property tax and valuation system, reduce government overreach and wasteful spending, ensure vital government services are provided in the most cost efficient manner, and protect Nebraskans’ constitutional rights and the rights of the unborn.
Schoenrock has spent much of his life in public service. He served as an officer in the United States Army on active duty and as an Army civilian as a logistician serving United States combat forces. Through the years, he has served Jefferson County as a county commissioner and leadership capacities for the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO), Blue Rivers Area Agency on Aging, Public Health Solutions district health board, and Blue Valley Community Action.
If elected, Schoenrock will replace Senator Tom Brandt (District 32) of Plymouth, who is unable to run again due to term limits.
Senator Brandt was present at the event, along with several other state and county official, including Senators Kathleen Kauth (District 31) and Stan Clouse (District 37), NACO Executive Director Jon Cannon, Jefferson County Commissioner Michael Dux and Danielle Schwab and Gage County Commissioner Emily Haxby, who told the crowd, “He leads by example. He served as our district rep for NACO for years, always advocating for policies that strengthen our communities. He listens to people even when they don’t agree, because he knows that in public service, being heard matters.”
State Auditor Mike Foley was in attendance as well. He told the crowd, “I’m just so pleased to be able to publicly be here, to announce my endorsement, full endorsement, without any reservations.”
Foley said, “This guys is going to be a rock star in that legislature.”
Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilger also spoke in support of Schoenrock’s candidacy, particularly noting his experience, “In a world of term limits, it’s really hard to have institutional knowledge.”
“Mark understands the system. He understands the process. He’s heavily involved with the county officials association,” said Hilgers. “Mark’s going to hit the ground running in ways that a lot of other freshmen won’t be able to.”
Hilgers said, “I’m grateful to support him, but I’m just grateful that he’s running. In this day and age, we have so much cynicism and so much anger and so many things pulling us apart, that somebody’s going to say, ‘You know what I’m going to do in this chapter of my life? I’m not going to spend all this time doing something for myself, I’m going to do something for my community.”
While Schoenrock and some of the supporters who spoke emphasized his conservative bona fides, during his time as commissioner he has shown a willingness in these hyper-partisan times to work with those on the other side of the aisle. Schoenrock has said on more than one occasion, “I don’t care if your name has a D or and R after it. I care about the results.”
Indeed, Schoenrock sited liberal icon Robert Kennedy as inspiration for going into government service, “I learned from Robert F. Kennedy when I met him in 1968, when he was campaigning for president in Beatrice. I was a young boy at 12 years old, and we had the opportunity to meet him one on one that morning. And he said, ‘There’s no greater calling in this life than to serve your fellow man.’ That’s been my beacon my whole life.”
