Ricketts wins Nebraska Senate race against independent Osborn

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts won a full term in Nebraska, defeating independent Dan Osborn in a race that became competitive despite the state’s strong Republican voting record, CBS News and NBC News projected.

Ricketts, 62, is a former Nebraska governor who was appointed to the Senate in 2023. He won a 2024 special election to serve the final two years of former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse’s term by 25 percentage points, according to NBC News. Osborn, 51, a pipe fitter, Navy veteran and former union organizer, lost his first Senate bid to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer that year by seven points.

Nebraska has not elected a candidate who was not a Republican since 2006, CBS News reported. Donald Trump carried the state by 20 points in 2024, according to NBC News. But high costs and the war with Iran shaped this year’s contest. CBS News cited high gas and diesel prices and a large share of nonpartisan voters among the factors that made the race competitive. NBC News reported that farmers in Nebraska and other heartland states faced high diesel prices linked to the war and Trump’s sweeping tariffs.

Osborn had a one-on-one contest against Ricketts after the Democratic nominee ended her campaign in July, NBC News reported. The Nebraska Democratic Party backed Osborn, but he said he would not caucus with either party if elected. Ricketts attacked him as a Democrat in disguise.

“Democrat Dan is too extreme, and he would be the most extreme senator we’ve ever sent to the U.S. Senate from Nebraska,” Ricketts said at a September debate. He warned that if Osborn “gave it to the Democrats, that would be a disaster for Nebraska.”

Osborn centered his campaign on the cost of living. “People are working hard,” he said at the debate. “But there’s a common theme that I find around the state, and times are getting harder. Costs are getting too expensive. Healthcare is getting too expensive. Groceries are too expensive, and families are falling behind.” He also attacked Ricketts’ wealth, accusing him of being beholden to large donors and corporations. In one television ad, Osborn called him “Pocket Pete.”

Ricketts, for his part, highlighted his record as governor in an ad featuring voters who said he had been there for Nebraska through fires, flooding, agricultural challenges and the pandemic, according to NBC News.

At an early October rally in Nebraska, Trump signed an executive order expanding access to diesel used in farming, known as “red dye” diesel, NBC News reported. Trump said prices would “plummet as soon as that war ends.” Osborn supported the move but called it a “Band-Aid.”

Ricketts’ projected victory keeps the seat in Republican hands. Osborn had ruled out caucusing with Democrats, but a Ricketts loss would have further reduced the Republican majority in the Senate, CBS News reported.