Dan Osborn
Independent candidate challenging Senator Pete Ricketts in Nebraska's 2026 Senate race.
Last refreshed: 17 October 2026 · Appears in 1 active topic
Can a union mechanic with no party label unseat a Ricketts in Nebraska?
Timeline for Dan Osborn
SLF funds new PACs in Nebraska and Maine
US Midterms 2026Background
Dan Osborn is an Independent candidate challenging Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in Nebraska's 2026 Senate race. Cornhusker Majority, a committee whose only receipt was $7.5m from the Senate Leadership Fund, reported $4.75m of Independent spending in its first report, filed on 15 October, every line against him. Osborn's own campaign raised $3.88m in the third quarter, spent $4.21m and held $2.21m on 30 September.
A Navy veteran who later served in the Nebraska Army National Guard, Osborn worked as an industrial mechanic at Kellogg's Omaha plant. As president of union Local 50G he led the 2021 strike there. He ran as an Independent in 2024 against Senator Deb Fischer and lost by about seven points, the best result for an Independent in a Nebraska Senate race.
Cook Political Report moved Nebraska from Safe to Likely Republican in April. The Senate Leadership Fund set out a $342m plan for eight Senate races this spring, and its Nebraska committee spent more against Osborn in three weeks than his campaign spent in the whole quarter.
Who is Dan Osborn running against in Nebraska?
Who is paying for the ads against Dan Osborn?
How much money has Dan Osborn raised?
What did Dan Osborn do before politics?
Written with AI from Lowdown's published reporting. Not individually reviewed by an editor. Updated 17 October 2026. Editorial standards.