Osborn Certified for Fall Ballot, Spars With Ricketts Over Fundraising Numbers
by Lewis Thune and John Gage
(Picture credit Dan Osborn)
Independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn was certified to make the November ballot on Thursday, where he will face off against incumbent Republican Senator Pete Ricketts. Secretary of State Bob Evnen announced that Osborn’s campaign had “collected at least 6,096 valid signatures from registered Nebraska voters.”
Osborn needed at least 4,000 signatures statewide and 750 signatures in each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts. Evnen said Osborn had obtained 2,314 signatures in the 1st Congressional District, 1,897 in the 2nd, and 1,885 in the 3rd.
FEC Reports Released
Nebraska candidates for federal office released their fundraising totals for the second quarter this week, and the numbers showed Ricketts with a significant cash lead according to Federal Election Commission filings.
The Ricketts campaign raised well-over $6 million between April and the end of June, compared to under $2 million for Osborn. The disparity caused Osborn to hold a press conference on Thursday, where he complained that Ricketts raised most of the money from himself.
Osborn said he “raised over $1 million more than his opponent” if you exclude “candidate contributions.” The Ricketts campaign holds a $4.5 million cash-on-hand advantage over the Osborn campaign.
“The Ricketts family accounted for $5.25 million of the money his campaign raised,” Osborn said during his press conference. The candidate called the fact “irritating” and accused Ricketts of trying to “buy” the election.
The Ricketts campaign responded to Osborn, saying, “Senator Ricketts is investing in his own campaign because he answers to Nebraskans. Dan Osborn is relying on alleged Epstein associates and coastal Democrat billionaire donors to continue funding the half-million-dollar family grift he calls a campaign.”
Osborn’s campaign has been previously criticized by Republicans for taking in more donations from states like California than from Nebraska.
Nebraska Set for Feisty Senate Battle
As the fundraising battle heats up for both candidates, Nebraska is preparing for a hard-fought fall Senate race, with the state potentially deciding the balance of the Senate this November.
Prediction markets give Ricketts around a 70% chance of winning his reelection campaign, while one professional forecaster moved the race from solid Republican to likely Republican back in April.
“He knows he’s in trouble,” Osborn said of Ricketts on Thursday. Osborn’s campaign has released a series of polls showing the two are neck-and-neck in the race.
— Lewis Thune is a writing fellow with The Plains Sentinel.
— John Gage is the executive editor of The Plains Sentinel.