Former labor union leader and independent candidate Dan Osborn has announced his bid for a Nebraska U.S. Senate seat, challenging Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts. Osborn accused Ricketts of “buying his Senate seat” in his Tuesday announcement. Ricketts’ campaign responded by labeling Osborn as “bought and paid for” by liberal donors. Osborn gained national attention in his race last year against Nebraska’s other U.S. senator, Republican Deb Fischer, by rejecting both major political parties. He plans to do so again in this election, saying he wants to represent working people. Despite Ricketts’ significant campaign funds, Osborn says he’ll expects to win with a grassroots approach focusing on town halls.
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A former labor union boss who drew national headlines in his race last year as an independent candidate challenging Nebraska Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer is again throwing his hat into the political ring — this time to challenge Nebraska's junior senator, Republican Pete Ricketts, in 2026.
“I’m running for Senate because Congress shouldn’t just be a playground for the rich,” Dan Osborn said in a video released Tuesday to announce his candidacy. He criticized Ricketts, a former two-term Nebraska governor and multimillionaire who is the son of billionaire TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts, as a lawmaker who “bought his Senate seat.”
Ricketts' campaign responded by touting his voting record “to secure the border and cut taxes for Nebraska workers” and painted Osborn as beholden to Democrats.
“Dan Osborn is bought and paid for by his liberal, out-of-state, coastal donors,” Ricketts campaign spokesman Will Coup said in a written statement.
That was a reference to the nearly $20 million Osborn received last year from political action committees, including those that tend to support Democratic candidates.
As he insisted last year, Osborn said he would serve as an independent if elected and has no plans to caucus with either Democrats or Republicans. He pointed to Ricketts' vote for Republicans' massive tax cut and spending bill last week that contains $4.5 trillion in tax cuts and cuts Medicaid and food stamps by $1.2 trillion.
“Congress spends their time bickering about how much we should cut taxes for billionaires and multinational corporations. We’re just an afterthought,” Osborn said. “My kids and yours deserve an American dream too.”
It's a familiar refrain from Osborn, who centered his campaign last year on representing working families he says are being steamrolled by an ever-growing wealth gap and policies that favor the rich over the middle class.
Osborn was known in labor union circles as the Omaha industrial mechanic who successfully led a labor strike at Kellogg’s cereal plants in 2021, winning higher wages and other benefits. He was a political newcomer when he challenged Fischer, outraising her by more than $1 million and coming within 6 percentage points of the two-term senator, who was used to winning by wide margins.
Osborn acknowledged that it would be difficult to pose a campaign finance threat to Ricketts, one of the richest members of the U.S. Senate. Federal campaign finance reports show Ricketts' campaign had more than $800,000 cash on hand at the end of March.
But Osborn believes his populist message appeals more to Nebraska voters than campaign war chests.
“I think if you throw $100 million of your own money into Nebraska, I don’t know that that moves the needle any more than $30 does,” he said. “I think we’re going to win this the old school way: Go out to where people are. Just hold town hall after town hall and talk with the good people in Nebraska.”
Ricketts is seeking reelection next year after winning a special election last year to finish out the term of former Sen. Ben Sasse, who resigned in 2022. Ricketts was appointed to the seat by his successor, fellow Republican Gov. Jim Pillen, to fill the vacancy — a move widely panned as having the appearance of backroom dealing, as Ricketts had heavily supported and donated more than $1 million to help elect Pillen.
