Keystone XL Opposed by Nebraska Candidate for Governor

"I don't see the compelling public interest for the people of Nebraska in helping a Canadian company sell Canadian oil to the Chinese."

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Chuck Hassebrook's opposition to the Keystone XL pipeline goes beyond concern for his state: primarily, he's worried about climate change.

"I believe, from all my experience, that building the infrastructure to help facilitate that development [of tar sands] will help speed that development, and ultimately I think that contributes to climate change," he told ThinkProgress. "For me, it's a climate change issue." 

Hassebrook is also concerned about the potential for TransCanada to use eminent domain to secure the land of the holdout landowners.

"The whole idea of eminent domain is we take peoples' property rights when there's a compelling public interest," he said. "From my perspective, I don't see the compelling public interest for the people of Nebraska in helping a Canadian company sell Canadian oil to the Chinese."