A ‘serendipitous’ ‘double dose’ - both Nebraska U.S. Senators stump in Fairbury on the same afternoon

FAIRBURY, Neb. - It’s not that uncommon for two sitting U.S. senators to be in the same place at the same time, especially if that place is the state capitol, or the U.S. Capitol. But for both of Nebraska’s sitting national senators, both in the midst of campaign season, to both be in the same place in Fairbury on the same Tuesday afternoon? That was certainly unique.  

A few dozen people from Jefferson County and the surrounding areas made their ways to On the Bricks in downtown Fairbury on Tuesday afternoon for a rare opportunity to meet with their elected officials: both U.S. Senators Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts were in the same building in the span of a couple of hours to converse with locals, stump for each other, and add a late charge into their own campaigns, with Election Day one week away.  

“We try to cover the state and be everywhere between the two of us, but it just worked out,” Fischer said. “I guess it’s serendipity that we were both here today. It’s great to see him, he’s a great partner.” 

“Deb and I have both been traveling all across the state, going to towns like Fairbury all around, and it just happened to work out,” Ricketts said. “This is a great venue, we both wanted to come, and it just happened to be on the same day, so the people here got a double dose of their senators.” 

And this unique joint speech session was executed in large part by Jefferson County Commissioner Mark Schoenrock, who had been coordinating with both candidates’ staffs for more than a month to bring – independently – both senators to Fairbury on the same day. 

“We’re very grateful that it worked out for both of them to come here to Fairbury, and meet citizens here in Jefferson County,” Schoenrock said. “We had a number of people here from outside the county as well, so it was a great opportunity – for them, and for our citizens.” 

In coming to Fairbury, Fischer received a unique opportunity to witness firsthand the results of her work. Schoenrock credits Fischer, along with Congressman Adrian Smith, as being instrumental in securing federal funding to repair the PWF Road just outside of town, a project that will ramp up in 2026, the commissioner said. 

“So this was an opportunity for her to see, directly, something that her efforts back in Washington, D.C. is doing to affect Nebraskans right here in Fairbury,” he said. 

And for the senior senator, a trip to Jefferson County was a bit of a homecoming. 

“My grandparents farmed in Jefferson County, and my dad was born here, so it’s always fun to be back and to see friends and neighbors,” she said. 

In another coincidence, earlier on Tuesday the two senators jointly unveiled a $5.4 million grant that will be used to rehabilitate a rail line between Fairmont and Burress in Fillmore County, not that far from Fairbury. 

“Deb and I both worked to be able to get a grant to be able to help promote business, economic development in the state of Nebraska,” Ricketts said. “There’s federal dollars out there available, and we work to try to make sure that our companies get a fair shot at it.” 

The whole plan to get both senators to town took about six weeks to execute, Schoenrock said. And now, with only one week left until Election Day and both Fischer and Ricketts on the ballot, both candidates’ ultimate messages were similar: be sure to get out and vote.