Pete Ricketts Wins Nebraska Senate Re-election, Defeating Independent Dan Osborn
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 4
Pete Ricketts Wins Nebraska Senate Re-election, Defeating Independent Dan Osborn
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 4
Summary
Pete Ricketts won re-election to Nebraska’s U.S. Senate seat, turning back independent challenger Dan Osborn in a race that had drawn unusual attention in the deep-red state.
The result underscored both Nebraska Republicans’ durability and Ricketts’s own standing as a former two-term governor with strong name recognition and a reliably conservative record.
Osborn, a mechanic and military veteran, had tried to build a cross-party coalition of swing voters and Trump critics after Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank dropped out and endorsed him.
Ricketts centered his campaign on border security and support for farmers, while acknowledging that the Iran war had raised fuel and fertilizer costs for Nebraska families without breaking with the conflict.
The victory keeps in office a senator first appointed in 2023 and reinforces Republican strength even as some voters show growing unease with Trump’s economic policies.