Ricketts defeats Osborn, wins first full Senate term in Nebraska

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts won reelection in Tuesday’s election, defeating independent challenger Dan Osborn and securing his first full six-year term in the U.S. Senate. The Associated Press called the race at 2:27 a.m. CST Wednesday.

At the time of the call, Ricketts had 50.2% of the vote to Osborn’s 43.9%. The remaining candidates were well behind. Ricketts’ victory keeps the seat in Republican hands. Osborn conceded Wednesday afternoon. “Last night, we came up short,” he said in a statement, adding, “This is not the end of our movement.”

Osborn, a former union leader, industrial mechanic and military veteran, ran as a registered nonpartisan candidate. The Nebraska Democratic Party backed his campaign, and its nominee, Cindy Burbank, withdrew in July to clear the way for him. Osborn had also challenged Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, losing by nearly 7 percentage points.

Ricketts, a former Nebraska governor whose family founded what became TD Ameritrade and owns the Chicago Cubs, was appointed to the Senate by Gov. Jim Pillen (R) in 2023 after Republican Sen. Ben Sasse resigned. He won a 2024 special election to serve the remainder of Sasse’s term. Tuesday’s victory gives him his first full term.

The race drew attention because Osborn sought to win as an independent in a state that has not elected a non-Republican to the Senate since 2006. He also campaigned in a cycle when Democrats flipped seven Republican-held Senate seats, including in neighboring Iowa and Kansas, and won control of the chamber.