In a contested primary in 2006, he finished first among four candidates in his initial race for the Nebraska Legislature. He then served two terms in the nonpartisan legislature, representing Nebraska's 4th legislative district, which includes West Omaha. He sat on the Banking, Commerce and Insurance committee and the Revenue committee.
Nebraska's term-limits law precluded Pirsch from running for re-election in 2014. In October 2013, he announced that he would run for Nebraska State Auditor,[3][4] but after Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning announced that he was running for governor,[5] Pirsch decided to run instead for Nebraska Attorney General in the 2014 election. However, he lost in the primaries to Doug Peterson.[6][7] He is currently serving as a Deputy Sarpy County attorney.