For the senior British diplomat, see Peter Ricketts.John Peter "Pete" Ricketts (born August 19, 1964) is the 40th and current governor of the U.S. state of Nebraska, and the former chief operating officer of Ameritrade. He was the Republican nominee for the 2006 U.S. Senate race in Nebraska, which he lost to incumbent Ben Nelson. He ran for governor of Nebraska in the 2014 election, this time defeating the Democratic Party's nominee, Chuck Hassebrook.