The race to fill retiring Democratic Senator Ben Nelson’s seat has recently heated up with Democrats accusing the Republican candidate, Attorney General Jon Bruning, of financial impropriety.

The money in question is a $100,000 grant given to We Support Agriculture, a Nebraska based farm advocacy organization, from funds that came out of the state’s Supplemental Environment Project fund, administered by the Attorney General and paid for through state settlements with companies fined for environmental regulations.

Democratic Party spokespeople accused Bruning of using state funds for personal political gain. In a statement blasting the Attorney General, the party stated, “This is just another example of Jon Bruning having a conflict of interest. He seems to have a gift for failing to separate what’s best for the state and what’s best for his own political ambitions.”

Democrats say that the grant was rushed through in order to give Bruning a photo op (he presented the grant at a Farm Bureau convention). They also criticized Bruning’s announcement, which contained an attack on the Humane Society of the United States (Bruning labeled it an extremist organization).

Bruning defended the grant and accused the Democrats of playing politics with Nebraska agriculture, stating, “This is an orchestrated attempt to throw mud.”

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Written by: Justin Ellison / Farm Plus Staff Writer