RismadarVoice Reporters
September 30, 2026
Nebraska’s 2026 Senate election is drawing increased national attention as independent candidate Dan Osborn challenges Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in a state that has traditionally supported Republican candidates in statewide elections.
Osborn, a former industrial mechanic and Marine Corps veteran, previously contested Nebraska’s other Senate seat in 2024 against Republican Senator Deb Fischer.
He lost that election by just over six percentage points, despite Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump carrying Nebraska statewide by a substantially larger margin.
Osborn is again contesting as an independent in 2026. Nebraska Democrats have not fielded their own Senate candidate, leaving him in a direct contest with Ricketts.
Recent opinion polls have produced differing results.
A September SurveyUSA poll of 503 likely voters showed Osborn with 46 per cent support and Ricketts with 42 per cent, while seven per cent were undecided.
A separate Wedgewood Polls survey of 500 likely voters subsequently showed Ricketts with 52 per cent and Osborn with 48 per cent.
The contrasting surveys underline the uncertainty surrounding the contest, with polling representing snapshots of voter opinion rather than determining the eventual outcome.
The race has also attracted substantial campaign spending as Republican organisations seek to retain the seat and groups supporting Osborn attempt to make the contest competitive.
Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District is also receiving national attention ahead of the November election.
Republican Representative Don Bacon is retiring, creating an open-seat contest between Democrat Denise Powell and Republican Brinker Harding, with Libertarian Eric Michael Foreman also on the ballot.
The Omaha-based district includes Douglas and Saunders counties and part of Sarpy County.
In the 2024 presidential election, Democratic candidate Kamala Harris carried the district with 51.6 per cent of the vote against Trump’s 47 per cent, even as Bacon retained the congressional seat for Republicans.
Powell won the Democratic nomination earlier this year, while Harding, an Omaha city councilman, secured the Republican nomination.
The congressional contest is being closely watched because the district has produced more competitive results than Nebraska as a whole in recent election cycles.
Both the Senate and House contests will be decided in the November 3, 2026 general election.
