Ricketts Holds Nebraska Senate Seat Over Osborn
Pete Ricketts defeated independent Dan Osborn, winning his first election since being appointed to the Senate in 2023.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Elections
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Pete Ricketts defeated independent Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate race, with the Associated Press calling the contest late on election night. Osborn trailed by more than six points, or 49,000 votes, as of Wednesday morning.
Why it matters
Osborn narrowed the gap over the course of the fall campaign after tying Ricketts in an October YouGov poll, a sign of competitiveness in a state Donald Trump carried by 20 points in 2024. The result matters for Nebraska voters choosing a Senate representative in a race that drew attention for its closeness.
Ricketts led Osborn by more than six points, or 49,000 votes, as of Wednesday morning after the Associated Press called the race late on election night. Osborn had tied Ricketts in an October YouGov poll, and the final certified margin was not included in the source material.
The players
Pete Ricketts
Ricketts is a Republican U.S. senator from Nebraska who was appointed to the Senate in 2023 and previously served as the state's governor.
Dan Osborn
Osborn is an independent candidate from Nebraska who ran a competitive Senate campaign against Ricketts while declining to align with either major party.
The details
Ricketts portrayed Osborn as a socialist over the course of the race, while Osborn called for restricting Trump's tariffs, pushing big-dollar donors out of politics, and backing Social Security protections. Osborn embraced some policy positions held by Democrats while stating he would not caucus with either party.
Timeline
October 2026: A YouGov poll showed Osborn tied with Ricketts.
November 4, 2026: Election night, when the Associated Press called the race late.
Wednesday following the election: Osborn trailed by more than 49,000 votes.
Political Context
Trump's 20-point win in Nebraska in 2024 set a strongly Republican baseline, which makes Osborn's close race against Ricketts a notable departure. Osborn's campaign pushed back on several Republican-aligned priorities, including tariff policy and big-dollar donor influence.
The result determines which candidate represents Nebraska in the U.S. Senate for the coming term, affecting the state's federal voting delegation. Voters and officials can track the final certified count to confirm the margin reported on election night.
The takeaway
Nebraska's Senate contest showed that a candidate running outside both major parties could come within a few points of a Republican incumbent in a heavily Republican state. Readers can watch how the final certified totals compare with the election-night count.
Further reading
For more on how the state's voting results are tallied and reported, see Elections coverage for Nebraska.
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