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David Eugene "Dave" Heineman (born May 12, 1948, in Falls City, Nebraska

) is the governor of Nebraska. He is a Republican.

Biography

Heineman lived in a variety of places in eastern Nebraska during his youth, eventually attending high school in Wahoo, Nebraska

. He graduated from the United States Military Academy

in 1970. He served five years in the U.S. Army, leaving with the rank of captain. He also graduated the Army Ranger training program. Heineman served on the Fremont

City Council from 1990 to 1994. He served two terms as the Nebraska State Treasurer from 1994 to 2001 and was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska on October 1, 2001, and was elected to his first full term in 2002.

He is married to Sally Ganem, a former elementary school teacher. They have one son.

He became Governor on January 20, 2005, following Mike Johanns' resignation to become United States Secretary of Agriculture in President George W. Bush's Cabinet. On April 11, 2005, Heineman announced that he would be seeking election to a full four-year term. He had the backing of Nebraska

Senator Chuck Hagel, though he faced a difficult challenge in the Republican primary from former Nebraska Cornhuskers football coach and U.S. Representative Tom Osborne. Heineman took 49 percent of the more than 197,000 votes cast, and Osborne 45 percent. The Lincoln Journal Star's analysis of the race attributed Heineman's win to his opposition to Class I rural school reorganization and the granting of resident college tuition rates to the children of illegal immigrants, helping him win over rural voters. This proved critical in the primary; while Osborne carried most of the Omaha

and Lincoln

areas—which cast more than two-thirds of Nebraska's vote—Heineman won by large-enough margins in western and central Nebraska to get the nomination.

Heineman defeated Democratic nominee David Hahn in the November 7, 2006, general election, capturing 73.4 percent of the vote—one of the most lopsided victories for a gubernatorial race in Nebraska history. The race was not a high priority for the state's Democratic Party; it is likely that many top-tier Democrats didn't want to face the possibility of running against the popular Osborne.

On December 13, 2007 he endorsed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

As governor, Heineman worked with the state legislature to pass the largest tax cut in Nebraska history. He also has pushed for legislation that would make the state's Department of Health and Human Services more accountable to citizens. In a state where agricultural issues are important, Heineman has made them a top priority. The governor helped to negotiate trade deals with the Republic of China