Jenkins hopes independent candidacy will break gridlock

Jim Jenkins harbors no illusions. Going it alone as an independent in a U.S. Senate race where well-funded candidates backed by each party dominate the storylines  is unlikely to make him a frontrunner—at least early on.

“I have a healthy respect for what it takes,” he said during a visit to Sidney last week. But, he added, “It’s refreshing not to have a political label on my head. I’m not trying to cultivate Democrats or Republicans.”

The Custer County rancher, restaurant owner and former chair of Nebraska's Ethanol Board insists that he shares the basic political ideology o...