The Republican governor said the measure will have to be covered by existing state tax revenue, even if that means less money for K-12 schools, roads or lowering property taxes.

Ricketts said he expects “a lively debate” in the Legislature next year as lawmakers and stage agency officials prepare to implement the program and seek the necessary federal approval.

“I’ve made it very clear I’m not going to raise taxes, so this is going to have to fit into the budget with all of our other priorities,” Ricketts said in an Associated Press interview. “That means that other priorities we have in the budget — things like K-12 education, higher education, property tax relief, potentially even roads — are all going to have less money available.”

Ricketts made the comments as he outlined his general plans for the next four years after winning a second term in Tuesday’s election. Ricketts said he hopes to build on his first four years with a continued push to promote Nebraska businesses nationally and abroad. He said he hopes to enact policies that help create new, high-skill jobs, cut regulations for businesses and reduce property taxes.

It’s unclear exactly how much the expansion will cost, but estimates have ranged from $40 million to $69 million annually for the state’s share. The federal government will pay 90 percent of the total cost, starting in 2020. Ricketts declined to say how he plans to fit the new cost into the budget he’ll submit to lawmakers in January.

Supporters said the vote to expand Medicaid will deliver longer-term economic benefits for Nebraska. The measure will create and sustain an estimated 11,000 jobs, mostly in health care, and reduce financial pressure on counties that cover the cost of uninsured residents, said Kate Wolfe, a spokeswoman for the Insure the Good Life ballot campaign.

Wolfe said the measure is likely to reduce personal bankruptcies triggered by large medical debts, which collectively can become a drag on the economy. A study by two University of Nebraska at Kearney professors found that expanding Medicaid will generate an estimated $1.3 billion annually in economic activity.

“In the long run, there are going to be some costs to the state,” Wolfe said. “But we know the benefits far outweigh the costs.”

Lawmakers have not yet discussed how to pay for the expansion measure, but the issue may come up at their annual pre-session gathering later this month, said Sen. John Stinner, chairman of the budget-writing Appropriations Committee.

Stinner, a Republican who opposed the expansion measure, said he was concerned that the program’s costs and the number of enrollees could grow faster than expected. Medicaid costs over the last 20 years have outpaced the natural growth of state revenue and expanding the program could accelerate that trend, he said.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge” to fit it into the budget, said Stinner, of Gering. “It doesn’t leave very much room for things like property taxes.”

One option lawmakers and Ricketts might have to consider is cutting so-called optional programs within the current Medicaid program, said Jessica Shelburn, who campaigned against the ballot measure as state director of the fiscally conservative Americans for Prosperity-Nebraska.

The federal government requires state Medicaid programs to cover 13 services, including hospital and physician visits and laboratory work. But Nebraska also covers 19 optional services, such as dental and vision care and speech therapy.

“That’s a viable option to try to make this workable,” Shelburn said. “But it comes at a heavy price tag for those who are receiving the services.”

GORDON, Neb. (AP) — Authorities have confirmed the sighting of a mountain lion inside the Nebraska Panhandle community of Gordon.

A household security camera captured images of the big cat over the weekend and again early Monday morning. Sheridan County Attorney Jamian Simmons says a Gordon officer, a sheriff’s deputy and a U.S. Agriculture Department representative identified a location where the cat may have been bedding down and a short time later saw it inside city limits.

The mountain lion evaded them, but Simmons says efforts to track it will continue. The Nebraska Game and Parks Commission has been notified.

System President Hank Bounds said Monday that he’s asking the university Board of Regents to approve Dr. Jeffrey Gold as chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha. If approved, Gold would be UNO chancellor until June 30, 2022, when the system would begin searching for his successor.

Gold has led UNO since May 2017. He replaced Chancellor John Christensen, who retired.

Gold already is chancellor of the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Bounds says UNO and the med center will remain separate universities, “and we intend that each will have its own chancellor in the future.”

The Omaha World-Herald reports Joseph Melton is more focused on fighting the federal charges related to alleged violations at his gun silencer business than his run for Holdrege mayor.

But Melton says he thinks he would have had a chance to beat first-term incumbent Doug Young if he wasn’t sitting in jail awaiting trial.

Melton has been a frequent and vocal critic of the current mayor and city council in Holdrege.

Young says neither he nor his supporters had anything to do with Melton’s arrest. Both men are Republicans.

They’ll also decide races for U.S. Senate and House, governor and makeup of the state Legislature.

MEDICAID EXPANSION

An estimated 90,000 uninsured Nebraskans could gain access to Medicaid if voters approve a ballot measure to expand coverage. After six failed attempts for expansion under the federal health care law, advocates bypassed the lawmakers who rejected it and took the issue directly to voters.

Under a Medicaid expansion, the federal government would cover 93 percent of the cost next year and 90 percent in subsequent years, while the state would pay the rest — from $40 million to $69 million annually.

Supporters say expanding Medicaid would benefit people who work but don’t have health coverage. They also argue it would reduce the cost of uncompensated health care for the uninsured.

Opponents see the expansion as an unsustainable mandate that could divert money away from other needs.

GOVERNOR’S RACE

Republican Gov. Pete Ricketts is seeking a second term but his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Bob Krist, hopes to score a surprise upset in the GOP-dominated state.

Ricketts has outraised Krist and is viewed as the favorite to win the race. He has pledged to continue advocating for property tax cuts if re-elected and pointed to his efforts to promote Nebraska businesses.

Krist has pitched himself as a governor who would work collaboratively with lawmakers to reduce property taxes. Krist also promised to maintain his reputation as a voice for nonpartisanship in the Legislature, where he served for 10 years.

Krist was a Republican, then briefly an independent before finally joining the Democrats because it provided an easier path to qualify for the ballot.

Ricketts, a former TD Ameritrade executive, is the son of billionaire Joe Ricketts and a co-owner of the Chicago Cubs.

U.S. SENATE RACE

U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer is favored in her bid for a second term as she faces Democratic challenger Jane Raybould, a Lincoln City Council member who has portrayed the Republican as loyal to her party even when it hurts the state.

Fischer has rejected the criticism, pointing to her work on various Senate committees that oversee farm policy and military services, including the U.S. Strategic Command at Nebraska’s Offutt Air Force Base. She also has touted her credentials as a conservative who voted to cut taxes.

Raybould has cast herself as an outsider who would focus on lowering health care costs by changing but not eliminating the Affordable Care Act. She also pledged to promote rural economic development policies.

The candidates differed on their support for new U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who faced sexual assault allegations during his confirmation process. Fischer voted to confirm Kavanaugh while Raybould said the allegations merited further investigation.

Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied the allegations.

CONGRESSIONAL RACES

Nebraska’s most closely watched congressional race will pit first-term Republican Rep. Don Bacon against Democrat Kara Eastman in the 2nd District, encompassing Omaha and most of its suburbs.

The district is traditionally the most competitive in Nebraska, having changed hands from Republican to Democrat in 2014 with the election of Brad Ashford. Bacon defeated Ashford two years later.

Unlike Ashford, who stressed his role as a centrist, Eastman has embraced a progressive platform that includes expanded Medicare, greater gun control and tuition-free college for families making less than $125,000 a year.

Bacon describes himself as a conservative and supporter of President Donald Trump who is open to compromise on issues including immigration, health care and climate change.

In the 1st Congressional District, Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry is favored to win an eighth term over Democratic challenger Jessica McClure, a former chemist with a law degree.

GOP Rep. Adrian Smith is also expected to win a seventh term in the overwhelming Republican 3rd Congressional District. He faces Democrat Paul Theobald, a historian and hog farmer.

LEGISLATIVE RACES

Republicans will likely retain a strong majority in the officially nonpartisan Legislature, but there could be substantial changes due to a variety of factors, including term limits.

Although the GOP has dominated the Legislature, even a few additional seats could make it easier for conservative senators to advance their agenda. Republicans now outnumber Democrats 30-17 — three votes shy of the 33 needed to overcome the filibusters that thwarted dozens of bills this year.

However, even if Republicans gain those seats, Nebraska’s system makes it hard to predict how legislation will fare. The Legislature has no official party leadership, so it’s easier for individual senators to break ranks when they support or oppose a bill, or strike deals with senators from the other party.

Ricketts has responded by calling for more “platform Republicans” in the Legislature and funneling his own money into competitive legislative races.