Independent Worries GOP Senate Incumbent

Republicans are worrying about an election threat of a different kind in Nebraska: an independent who's challenging GOP Sen. Deb Fischer. Dan Osborn, a political newcomer, is offering voters a nonpartisan option in a state that's leaned Republican and supported Donald Trump in 2020 by nearly 20 percentage points, the Hill reports. There hasn't been much polling in the state, but what there is shows it to be a single-digit race, and three independent forecasters downgraded Fischer's chances last week, per the Washington Post. She's still the favorite, but now Republicans are starting to spend money in Nebraska.

"People are just thirsty for a change, on both sides of the aisle," said Osborn, a steamfitter and union leader in Omaha who led a strike against Kellogg's in 2021. "People are just sick of it—they're sick of the division, they're sick of politicians doing corporate bidding." One commercial shows an actor portraying Fischer in a NASCAR-like jacket with company patches representing corporate donations to her. Fischer has trumpeted an endorsement by Trump, who called Osborn a "Bernie Sanders Democrat," and said her opponent is a "Trojan horse" who will help Democrats keep control of the Senate if elected. "Nebraskans right now are just finding out who my opponent is and what my opponent stands for," Fischer said.

Analysts see the appeal of an independent bid, even in a state in which Republicans hold a clear edge in voter registration. Osborn is "appealing to the average moderate Nebraskan who realizes that one, the political parties are challenging, and two, that people want to elect someone who stands up for their rights and not for a party boss," said Brent Comstock, a consultant who mostly works with Democrats. A political science professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln said state voters are more independent than recent election results might indicate. "The people of Nebraska see themselves as the salt of the earth, blue-collar," said Ari Kohen, "and so when you have someone who is that … I can see certainly why that kind of a candidate would be immediately attractive." (More Nebraska stories.)