Burbank Announces End of Senate Bid, Sparking Secretary of State Showdown
by John Gage
(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
Cindy Burbank, the Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate, officially submitted a request to Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office asking to be dropped from the ballot. The move comes as Evnen has said he might move to keep her on the ballot.
“This morning, July 17, 2026, Cindy Burbank submitted a declination of candidate nomination form to our office indicating her wish to be removed from the ballot in the race for U.S. Senate in the 2026 general election,” a spokesperson for the Secretary of State told The Plains Sentinel. “On Monday, Secretary Evnen will compose a letter to the Attorney General’s office asking if we are required to honor it, as we have stated earlier.”
Evnen’s appeal to the attorney general follows a promise he made ahead of the May primary elections.
“I’m going to wait and see if she wins that primary,” Evnen said at an event earlier this spring. “If she submits a withdrawal, then I’m going to ask, ‘Well, what is my obligation with respect to this now? Do I have to accept it?’ So I’ve submitted this question to the Attorney General to see what happens.”
Evnen then told The Plains Sentinel in June that he was prepared for Burbank to withdraw from the race. If we hear from Cindy Burbank, then I will refer that to the Attorney General,” he said.
The Plains Sentinel has reached out to the Attorney General’s office for comment.
Democrat Coalescing Behind Osborn
Burbank’s request to be dropped from the ballot comes as the Democratic Party has already endorsed Independent candidate Dan Osborn for the Senate seat.
Burbank jumped into the Democratic primary with the express intent to drop out of the race following a last-minute bid by Pastor William Forbes, who sought to secure the nomination.
Forbes was accused by the Osborn campaign of being a GOP “plant” meant to keep a Democratic name on the general election ballot.
Burbank told Courier Nebraska that she was happy to “have my life back again” after moving to drop her bid.
“But I will be back, and I’m not going to just sit on the sidelines either,” she said. “I do want to thank everybody who supported me, voted for me, and cheered me on. And it was a great, fun adventure. It reinforced to me that I grew up in a wonderful state with wonderful people.”
The deadline to be dropped from the ballot was August 3.
The Plains Sentinel has reached out to the Nebraska Republican and Democratic Parties as well as the Ricketts and Osborn campaigns for comment
This is a breaking news story; check back for updates.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.