(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
When Dan Osborn took the stage near midnight on Election Day, he leveled with the assembled crowd that the race was all but over. As he extended best wishes to his Republican opponent, he criticized the party system for its opposition to him.
“We faced 40 million in attack ads,” he said. “And, you know, third party candidates. Third party candidates made a difference in this race. They were placed on the ballot in an attempt to confuse voters, it made a difference in this race, it really did. The percentage we’re down by, they would have made up, if it wasn’t for Robin Richards.”
As totals continued to come in, however, a different reality emerged. Robin Richards and the Nebraska Working People Party did not sway the result of Nebraska’s Senate race.
They were not alone.
Despite much summer ado about the creation of two new third parties, and with candidates appearing across Senate, Governor, Auditor, Secretary of State, and Congressional races, neither of the new parties made a discernible effect in a single Nebraska race.
‘Agents’ and ‘Goobers’
The summer creation of the America First and Working People’s Parties in Nebraska drew no shortage of attention.
“Anyone that falls for their lies and joins their party please know you are an agent of MAGA,” said Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb soon after the Nebraska Working People Party was formed.
Governor Jim Pillen was equally blunt when the Omaha World-Herald reported that the America First Party was drawing closer to official recognition.
“We won’t be dooped by liberal tricks from political goobers desperate for relevancy” he said via Twitter.
In July, an America First petitioner told the Plains Sentinel the party was “to aid the cause of Dan Osborn.” “I don’t really know who’s paying, like how they’re paying or what—who’s where’s it coming from—but I know it is to aid the cause of Dan Osborn to help get someone new into the office,” the petitioner said.
America First’s funding network possessed clear ties to leftwing donor networks, while Working People’s sole funder had the same name of an accused GOP front group attempting to influence the Wisconsin’s Democratic primary for governor.
In the final weeks of the election, pop-up PACs dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting or opposing Robin Richards and Chuck Conboy in Nebraska’s Senate race.
Meanwhile, Legal Marijuana Now advocates made prominent appearances at Congressman Mike Flood’s town halls, shouting at him on multiple occasions and notably accusing him of wanting people to die. In August, the Flatwater Free Press reported that Dan Osborn’s 2024 team had infiltrated Legal Marijuana Now and attempted to dissolve it.
Libertarian Eric Michael Foreman debated Brinker Harding and Denise Powell in his run for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.
The Inconsequential Third Parties
Whatever political gamesmanship propped up Nebraska’s third parties, it amounted to nothing come election night. By the Nebraska Secretary of State’s totals, no third party votes could sway any single election.
Concern over Brett Lindstrom carving off Republican votes fell flat, as the former state senator garnered 4% of the votes. Rick Beard of Legal Marijuana Now tallied just over 20,000. Were both men’s votes to go to the Democrat Lynne Walz, she would still lose to Pillen by 10,000 votes.
Were America First’s Bob Krist and Working People’s Paul Rumbaugh to cede their votes to Democrat Sarah Slattery, they would not half her deficit to Scott Petersen, who successfully primaried current Secretary of State Bob Evnen and secured more votes than Jim Pillen or Pete Ricketts. Similarly, Eric Michael Foreman’s votes would come nowhere close to helping Brinker Harding in NE-02.
There was only one race where the losers had more total votes. In CD-1, Chris Backemeyer could have beat incumbent Congressman Mike Flood by 100 votes if he had secured the votes from Libertarian Nik Sandman and America First Dan Hartong. Political observers note, however, that Sandman, who came in third, likely took more votes from Flood than Backemeyer.
Ricketts and Osborn bled votes to Working People’s Robin Richards, America First’s Chuck Conboy, and Legal Marijuana’s Mike Marvin – despite Marvin dropping out in August and endorsing Osborn.
Were all three candidate’s votes to go to Osborn, he would still lose to Ricketts by 2,000 votes instead of 47,000 votes.
In a statement to The Plains Sentinel, John Cartier, the organizer of the America First Party, said his party was “disappointed” in its showing on election night but expected to continue fielding candidates.
“One of the greatest strengths of the American system is our ability to settle our political differences at the ballot box and peacefully transition power. Obviously, we’re disappointed with some of the results, but we respect the will of the voters,” Cartier said, adding, “As for 2028, America First expects to field candidates again.”
The Nebraska Working People Party did not respond for comment on the story.
— Lewis Thune is a College Fix writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.
I should add the math never really plays out the way it is set in this article. These lesser candidates often bring personalities and fringe voters to the voting booth. Without the candidate such voters often just do not show up.