'Democrats hope to oust this Republican senator by not running against him'

[sop]

(MS NOW) "In Tuesday’s primary elections in Nebraska, the candidate Democrats hope will unseat Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts this November isn’t on the ballot. In fact, he isn’t even a Democrat."

"State Democrats think their best bet in the race is independent Dan Osborn, a veteran and mechanic who ran an unexpectedly close race against Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, losing by just 6 points in a state President Donald Trump won by roughly 20."

"In March, the Nebraska Democratic Party announced that it was making a 'deliberate, principled decision' not to field a candidate in the race in order to boost Osborn’s chances."

“ 'We believe Dan Osborn — a veteran, a mechanic, a Nebraskan, and an independent voice — represents the best opportunity to defeat Pete Ricketts and deliver real results for working families,' the party said."

Opinion article continued at link:

https://www.ms.now/news/news-analysis/nebraska-primary-dan-osborn-project-47

[msongs]

1. how can a nuisance candidate run as a dem without approval of the dem party. a repub plant is running as a dem

[ShazzieB]

4. Oeborn is not running as a Democrat.

It's says the Nebraska Democratic Party announced that it was making a 'deliberate, principled decision' not to field a candidate in the race. It sounds like they've decided to do this because they believe Osborn has a a better chance of unseating the current Republican officeholder, Pete Ricketts, than anyone the Dems might field, and that he will be a significant improvement over Ricketts.

I'm sure they know their state, its voters, and incumbent Ricketts better than most of us do, and if they would rather get out of the way so the anti-Ricketts vote doesn't get split up, that's their decision to make. Most of Nebraska is very red, meaning it's probably hard to get people to vote for a Dem. I don't know anything about Ricketts, but if he's as awful as most Republicans, Osborn could very well be a big improvement, even though he has an I after his name rather than a D.

[msongs]

5. thre is a repub running as a dem to split the vote nt

[Gaytano70]

6. He lost (Forbes, a Pricketts plant)

Cindy Burbank won the primary. I think the plan is for her to leave the ticket once the primary is over.

[mwmisses4289]

2. An independent is someone who hasn't decided how much of a Republican jerk they want to be.

[calimary]

3. Or, it's a candidate who would say he/she is a Republican but doesn't want you to know it.

Them: Oh, er, uh, NO! I’m an independent.

Me: that’s what a Republican would say to fool somebody who doesn’t like Republicans. And you’re STILL gonna VOTE like a Republican when you think nobody can see you.

[ShazzieB]

7. Oh, is that what Bernie Sanders is? 😱

He is an independent, you know. It's easy to forget sometimes, but it's true!

My point being, I don't see any reason to assume that Osborn is really a stealth Republican. He may be running as an Independent because he's in a state that went for Trump by 20 points in 2024, and he knows a lot of people there would rather vote for a dead muskrat than a Democrat. Or maybe it's because he really is independent and wants to chart his own course the way Bernie has. Or who knows what else? The Nebraska Democrats have decided that unseating Ricketts is a high enough priority that it makes more sense for them to get out of Osborn's way rather than split up the anti-Ricketts vote and throw the election to the incumbent. Who are we to second guess them? I'm certainly not going to do that.

[mwmisses4289]

11. Bernie calls himself independent but he is very much a progressive dem,

some would say too progressive (personally, I think he is just who the dems should be listening to, along with AOC, Buttigieg, and other progressives).
I stand by my comment.

[Figarosmom]

8. Hope it works out.

So many Indies are old Republicans. But then most Indies do quorum with Democrats like Angus King and Bernie Sanders.

[Omaha Steve]

9. Donate to Dan with our DU ActBlue link

Donate here: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/duforosborn26/

[SSJVegeta]

10. "Burbank wins Dem primary but plans to drop out to boost Dan Osborn"

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/us/politics/nebraska-election-takeaways-dan-osborn-ricketts-senate.html?unlocked_article_code=1.iFA.O6x4.GHwoXqqWDuJI&smid=url-share