Independent Mark Cohen aims to hold both parties’ ‘feet to the fire’
In a nation dominated by a two-party system, independent candidates such as Mark Cohen are challenging Republicans and Democrats, hoping to “put both parties’ feet to the fire.”
Cohen held Pizza in the Park with Mark during lunchtime Wednesday, Sept. 23. Chilly weather and the threat of rain contributed to a low turnout in Lexington, but Cohen wasn’t discouraged.
He and his dog, Solomon, relaxed with his campaign team at Veterans Pavillion.
Cohen said he is running as an independent for Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District, facing longtime incumbent Republican Adrian Smith. He said he believes he is one of the few people who could defeat Smith because any Democrat running against him would be in for “a dead fight.”
However, Cohen’s campaign team said the tendency to portray independents as Democrats is hurting independent campaigns.
Mark Cohen, independent candidate for Congress Ne-03, and his dog Solomon at Pizza in the Park with Mark on Wednesday, Sept. 23. The event was held as a meet and greet at Veterans Pavillion.
Cohen grew up in Denver, Colorado, in an Air Force family. His varied career has included work as an agricultural lawyer, Air Force veteran, prosecutor, mystery author, teacher and karate instructor.
He was stationed in Omaha during his Air Force career, serving four years of active duty at Offutt Air Force Base, before he practiced law during the farm crisis of the 1980s. His time in Nebraska led him to fall in love with the Sandhills, and he eventually settled in the Ogallala area with his family.
“I have not been happy with the way the country has been going. I joined the Air Force because I believe in all the stuff we’re supposed to believe in: Democracy and the rule of law. I teach karate in Ogallala, and one of my karate friends said, ‘If you don’t like how things are going, then you should do something about it?’ So that’s when I started thinking about running,” Cohen said.
“There are so many problems we need to fix, but to fix a lot of them, I think we need to fix our government. Right now, with the two-party system, both parties are just catering to extremes to raise money," Cohen said. "It feels to me like our representatives and senators are working for the donors and not working for the voters.
"So, I feel we really need to fix that by getting the money out of politics, having term limits and banning stock trading so people aren’t getting rich. Once we fix those things, then we can start to talk about things like health care and right to repair."
Cohen, 68, said his main areas of concern are health care, gun rights, protections for troops and veterans, surveillance, data centers and farm economics.
He has made it his goal to keep his finger on the pulse of potential voters by learning which issues matter to them and developing his positions on those topics.
“I’m very concerned about health care. I would undo the trillion dollars in (Medicaid) cuts that the (Big Beautiful Bill) made because they’re really harmful to rural hospitals and clinics. On average, people in rural areas are not as healthy because they tend to be older and more isolated, so we really depend on those facilities, and they depend on Medicaid and Medicare revenue,” Cohen said.
According to his campaign, Cohen believes residents of greater Nebraska deserve a representative who puts Nebraska first by answering to the people instead of a party boss or billionaires.
“I think the shift in wealth has been going the wrong direction for a long time. It used to be that conservatives wanted to balance the budget and reduce the debt, but this bill — the Big Beautiful Bill — actually increased the debt by $3.3 trillion," he said.
"So, when Adrian Smith says he’s a conservative, I’m not buying it. I think the only way to do it is to address the revenue side and not keep cutting spending. We’ve been giving tax cuts to the rich for too long and cutting services like USDA services and housing programs. As an independent, I hope to hold the feet of both parties to the fire.”
Cohen scheduled a listening session in Kearney for Friday, Sept. 25, to discuss data centers and hear what Nebraskans want regarding them. A breakdown of his views and positions is available on his website, markfornebraska.org.
For people who prefer to consume their news through social media, Cohen and his campaign team also operate the Mark for Nebraska Facebook page, the Mark for Nebraska Instagram page, the @MarkForNebraskaCampaign YouTube channel and the @Markfornebraska TikTok account.
