According to Ballotpedia, the race for U.S. Senate in Nebraska now boils down to three candidates:
Incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R), Mike Marvin (Legal Marijuana Now Party), and Dan Osborn (Nonpartisan) are running in the general election for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska. Ricketts and Osborn lead in polling, noteworthy endorsements, fundraising, and media attention.
Cindy Burbank (D), who won the Democratic primary for the seat, filed paperwork to withdraw from the general election on July 17, 2026. On her withdrawal, Burbank said, “I’ve looked at the numbers. I won’t be your next senator. So I have withdrawn my bid for U.S. Senate.”
Ricketts and Osborn are the top two contenders.
As for Osborn, he calls himself an independent or nonpartisan but his campaign isn't fooling anybody because he will totally align with the Democrats. Here's just one example:
🚨INSANE: Fake independent Dan Osborn admits he wants to pack the Supreme Court
— Senate Republicans (@NRSC) September 14, 2026
As Osborn tries to trick Nebraska voters, his extreme Democrat agenda is on full display. pic.twitter.com/7rbxW4J1AV
In the 2024 election in Nebraska, Donald Trump received nearly 60 percent of the statewide vote, which makes these comments that have surfaced from Osborn a bit of a problem for his campaign:
Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn, after weeks of leaked recordings, now faces what his critics call a potential "deplorables" moment after a fresh recording surfaced of him talking about what motivates some supporters of President Donald Trump.
The recording, obtained by The World-Herald and verified separately with a person who participated in the recorded conversation, is from a campaign-related event early this summer, the participant confirmed.
[...]
In the audio, Osborn can be heard saying why he thinks some Trump supporters back the president so passionately despite difficult economic conditions. Osborn described the nature of Trump's support as a tribe or a team.
"Billy Bob in f------ Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next to the f------ Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the flag, all he knows is that he's on the winning team," Osborn said. "It's really that simple. And Trump ... that's why he's been so effective.
"He's been so effective at taking Billy Bob and his wife Mary Jane or Mary Jo and telling them ... you're on the winning team. And that's all they care about, because their lives probably suck so f------ bad."
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You might have thought the candidate from the "Legal Marijuana Now Party" would have been the one to talk about Mary Jane, but nope, it's the fake "independent" and his "basket of deplorables"-style condescension in regard to Trump voters and Republicans in general.
CNN's Dana Bash had Osborn on and asked him to confirm that's his voice on the recording:
Democrat Dan Osborn doesn’t care at all that he was caught insulting Nebraskan Republicans by saying "their lives probably suck."
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 16, 2026
BASH: “Just to confirm, is that you saying that?”
OSBORN: “It sure sounds like me.” pic.twitter.com/oJRSShn36N
Osborn looked like he wanted to go full Colonel Jessup with that answer.
CNN: “Do you regret saying that the way you did? There is a lot of talk about this as your deplorables moment.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) September 16, 2026
OSBORN: “Yeah, sure...I don’t remember the context of this." https://t.co/7WhErByYQI pic.twitter.com/7JaqEZswPt
Sure, dude, tell us what you really think about the voters in your state and don't apologize.
This sounds like every democrat on the planet
— EasyAdviceToFollow (@edwar14817) September 16, 2026
That's why his campaign pushing the "independent" angle is laughable.
This is who @janekleeb and the @NebraskaDems are FULLY BEHIND (to use their own words).
— NEGOP (@NEGOP) September 16, 2026
In fact, they support Dan Osborn so much they stopped an actual Democrat from assuming the nomination. Great work guys.
Vote Republican in November for a representative that actually likes… https://t.co/djaqg9KNX5
Osborn is far left and will vote with the Democrats. Nebraska voters need to keep him out of the Senate.
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Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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