(Picture credit Matt Johnson)
OMAHA — The U.S. Senate race in Nebraska has heated up as candid comments from Independent candidate Dan Osborn have leaked, becoming fodder for news outlets and campaign ads.
In one clip, released Sept. 16, Osborn described rural Nebraskans and why they voted for President Trump.
“Billy Bob in f--king Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next to the f--king Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the Trump flag. All he knows is he’s on the winning team. It’s really that simple. … And that’s all they care about, because their lives probably suck so f--king bad.”
Confrontation in Omaha
On Friday, Osborn held a town hall at Big Mama’s Kitchen in North Omaha, his first public town hall since Sept. 6 in Central City. He opened with a brief reference to the leak.
“I joined the Navy right out of high school, so as you’ve probably seen in social media, sometimes I cuss like a sailor. Cause I kinda am a sailor.”
At the town hall, he was confronted by Patricia Nosal, 74, of Omaha. She has farmers on both sides of her family, including a grandson near Red Cloud.
“I lived 30 miles from Red Cloud for 25 years, and I knew all the people in Red Cloud,” Nosal said. “And at this very moment, my 28-year-old grandson is a fifth-generation farmer. He’s a UNO college graduate, and he just bought a house. His life does not suck. I need you to know that.”
The Plains Sentinel spoke with Nosal after the event, who is a lifelong Democrat and still supports Osborn.
“I actually was quite taken with Osborn, and I am still going to vote for him,” Nosal said. “I picked up signs at his headquarters just today. Stuck it in my yard. But I do it with a heavy heart. I do it with less enthusiasm than before I heard those comments.”
Osborn responded with regret to her.
“I shouldn’t have used that language. You’re absolutely right. But I do know, what I do know about Western Nebraska and rural Nebraska, they’re some tough sons of bitches, right? And most of the ones that I talk to aren’t offended by those words.”
Video Leak from Townhall
Separately, video recorded after a May 25 South Omaha town hall — an event the campaign kept press out of — was released Sept. 23 by Townhall. In the video, Osborn talks about what might happen after Nov. 3.
“I can go and I can be the voice for LGBTQ and immigration and all of these issues. Then I lose the election,” Osborn said. “At the end of the day, I’m gonna win this election. And then I’ll be the senator for six years and everybody else can f-off.”
The Plains Sentinel asked Osborn what he meant by those comments.
“A lot of those phrases and words come from a place of frustration. You know, I did say people’s lives suck,” Osborn said. “And my life sucks, too, you know, because like I said, I’m not treading water anymore, I’m sinking. And Christmas this year at my house will be on a credit card. … And so that comes from a place of anger and passion, and I’m pissed off, and these people are pissed off, too.”
Osborn has pledged to visit all 93 counties, with an interactive map on his campaign site. As of Friday, about 43 counties still had no event held.
After Nosal’s question, however, Osborn announced one new stop.
“When you offend somebody, you’ve got to be accountable. So you know what I’m doing? I’m going to Red Cloud October 1st, and I’m having a town hall there,” Osborn said. “I wanna go and talk to the people of Red Cloud directly, because we should all be accountable for our words. And when you say the wrong words, it is about accountability.”
— Matt Johnson is a freelance reporter with The Plains Sentinel.