When Republican Jim Pillen becomes Nebraska's governor next month, one of his first acts will likely be to name his predecessor and biggest supporter to fill an open U.S. Senate seat.

Pillen was elected in November in large part because of current Gov. Pete Ricketts ' backing, and now he can return the favor by appointing him to the Senate, more than 15 years after Ricketts spent $12 million of his own money on a failed bid for the office.

Even as they acknowledge Ricketts is deeply conservative and qualified to replace outgoing Sen. Ben Sasse, some Republicans aren't sure such an appointment would be a good idea.

"It looks bad. It smells bad. What it looks like is two rich guys using their money and power to grab a Senate seat," said Jeremy Aspen, an Omaha Republican and former state party delegate. "This is how authoritarian countries operate, where a powerful few ride roughshod to get what they want. Things like this stay on voters' minds."