Why Invest in the 2026 US Senate Race in Nebraska?

Where does Nebraska fit on the 2026 Senate map?

Nebraska has been a reliably Republican state, supporting the Republican Presidential candidates in every election except one since 1940 (1964). It has strong Republican roots but decidedly progressive agrarian roots. While its voters sent Democrats to the US Senate in the late 1990s, it’s been a series of Republicans ever since. The hope is that the policies of Trump’s second term will turn away Republicans and Independents from the GOP. In 2024, Osborn over-performed in his bid against US Sen. Deb Fischer.

Who is Pete Ricketts and how vulnerable is he?

Pete Ricketts was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Senator Ben Sasse, who left to become president of the University of Florida. Ricketts was later elected in a 2024 special election to finish the term

Who is Don Osborn, the Independent candidate?

The Democratic Party is not fielding a candidate in the Nebraska Senate race.

This will be Dan Osborn’s second campaign for US Senate. He is staunchly Independent, saying that he will not caucus with either party. Yet a quick read of his platform suggest that there are many places where his agenda will overlap with a traditionally Democratic agenda: unions, kitchen table issues, etc.

In a recent editorial co-written with activist Wesley Dodge an published in Nebraska Examiner, Osborn extols the political career of George Norris, who started as a US Representative in 1903 and retired as a US Senator in 1943. He cites Norris’s practice of “prioritizing the public good over party politics” and said he “defied party lines, corporate interests, and popular opinion to champion democracy and the common good.”

What is the early polling?

As of this writing, the polls suggest a very tight race;

Updated 2026 March 31