Ricketts wins reelection over independent Osborn in Nebraska Senate race

Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) fended off a Senate challenge from independent Dan Osborn, Decision Desk HQ (DDHQ) projects, keeping the Nebraska seat under GOP control.

Ricketts, who won the 2024 race to fill out the remainder of former Sen. Ben Sasse’s (R-Neb.) term, was the favorite to win a full six years in the upper chamber.

Ricketts garnered about 49 percent of the vote, while Osborn notched just over 45 percent with 41 percent of the vote reported as of early Wednesday.

But Osborn, an Independent who came within 7 percentage points of Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) in 2024’s race , put up another tough fight in the Cornhusker State, where Republicans have dominated the congressional delegation and governorship for decades.

GOP voters make up roughly half of registered voters in Nebraska, and Democrats make up just a quarter . Osborn promised not to caucus with either party if elected.

But Ricketts and other Republicans argued that Osborn was a Democrat in disguise, pointing to his support from the state party.

Nebraska Democrats, who put up a write-in candidate after a spat with Osborn in 2024, rallied behind him this cycle. Their 2026 nominee, Cindy Burbank, dropped out after the primary to clear a path for the independent .

President Trump, who supported Ricketts, visited Nebraska as part of his red-state blitz in the weeks ahead of the election — a move operatives in the state saw as a sign that Republicans were worried about the race.

Despite Republicans’ advantage in Nebraska congressional races, the state has a more dynamic record in the presidential race.

Its “blue dot” district in the Omaha area, the 2nd Congressional District, has been a swing seat in recent elections and went to former Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 White House race, even as Nebraska’s other two districts went red. One of only two states that split their Electoral College votes based on individual district results, the seat added to Harris’s tally.