Incumbent Mayor Jean Stothert has picked up the endorsement of one of her challengers in last week's primary.
Taylor Royal, who finished third in the primary behind Stothert and Heath Mello, says he's throwing his support behind Stothert. The endorsement was announced at a news conference Monday.
"I just want to say to every conservative voter here in Omaha, the choice could not be clearer," Royal said.
The endorsement comes after Stothert told voters over the weekend the streetcar proposal would go to a vote and after U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders announced he would stump for Mello next week.
"A self-proclaimed socialist come and stump for Heath Mello, I think it shows what kind of governing he would do if he were mayor of the city of Omaha," Stothert said at Monday's news conference.
Mello's campaign says it is not surprised by the endorsement. They say they will focus on reaching the 20,000 to 30,000 voters who didn't vote in the primary but will vote in the general election.
"We're excited," said Mello campaign strategist Ian Russell. "We're getting a lot of support from Sen. Sanders supporters, as well as just others that are excited about having this kind of attention on Omaha. Sen. Mello's supports runs the gambit from Sen. Ben Nelson to Sen. Sanders and everyone in between."
Royal received 6,285 votes, or 10.78 percent of the 58,276 votes cast in the April 4 primary.
Royal is a certified public accountant and currently works for Northwestern Mutual. He has consulted with businesses, families and individuals on investments, personal finance and wealth management.
