Early unofficial results from Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race show incumbent Pete Ricketts with a narrow lead over independent challenger Dan Osborn, taking the lead around 11:15 p.m.
Republican Senator Pete Ricketts hopes to defend his seat against challenger Dan Osborn, an independent candidate. Two other candidates campaigned in September: Chuck Conboy of the America First Party and Robin Richards of the Nebraska Working People Party. Both new parties were created by Nebraskans who hope to give voters more options.
The U.S. Senate race began gaining national attention ahead of the November election. Political action committees, or PACs, have spent millions of dollars in the race, and Nebraska received visits from President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance just weeks before Election Day. Both visits to the White House were aimed at drumming up support for Ricketts.
Ricketts served as governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023. In 2024, Governor Jim Pillen, financially supported by Ricketts, appointed the former governor to the U.S. Senate seat he currently holds, when former Senator Ben Sasse resigned his seat. Ricketts won a special election for the same seat in 2024.
Ricketts is a strong supporter of President Trump and Republican-led legislation. He defended passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill in 2025, saying it was a vote to cut taxes for families and workers. The legislation created the Rural Health Transformation Program, providing millions of dollars to rural health care initiatives in Nebraska, but it also led to a multibillion-dollar cut in Medicaid over the next decade.
Ricketts supported other measures such as the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act and U.S. involvement in the Iran War.
Osborn is making his second attempt for a Nebraska Senate seat, having lost to Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024. He previously served in the U.S. Navy and later in the Nebraska Army National Guard. However, he spent most of his career as an industrial mechanic and union leader. Both in this election and in the 2024 election, Osborn has been accused of collecting dark money, or money from undisclosed donors, for his campaigns, although Osborn has said he hopes to spend his time in office supporting campaign finance reform.
Ricketts and Osborn are the only two candidates to face off in a Senate debate this summer. They frequently traded blows throughout the election campaign: Ricketts nicknamed Osborn “Dan the Democrat” and Osborn accused Ricketts of being a mere rubber stamp for the Trump administration’s agenda.
The two front-runners in the race were joined late in the Senate race by Conboy and Richards.
Mike Marvin of the Legal Marijuana NOW party is also on the ballot, although he dropped out of the race due to health concerns.
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