U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn meets with prospective voters at a Big Red Keno in west Lincoln on Oct. 20, 2024. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party is singing a different tune about nonpartisan labor leader Dan Osborn this time around, compared to Osborn’s 2024 bid against Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.
Wednesday on X, Nebraska Democratic Chair Jane Kleeb posted, “We are supporting Dan Osborn” against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in the 2026 midterms. She wrote it in response to a question from an X user about whether the party expects a Democratic candidate to join the race.
“We believe a coalition of Dems, Indys, and Republicans can beat Ricketts and break up the one-party rule,” Kleeb replied. “We like the odds of a mechanic vs a billionaire.”
The state’s second-largest political party had hinted in an early July response to a question from the Examiner that leaders were not actively recruiting a candidate for the race. Kleeb’s online support carries weight partly because, in addition to her state role, she is essentially chair of state party chairs for the national Democrats, serving as president of the Association of State Democratic Committees.
On Thursday, state Democratic spokesperson José Flores, Jr. said the party doesn’t endorse candidates and repeated that the party is not actively pursuing a candidate, though a Democrat could still join the race.
“Our goal will be to defeat Ricketts with a coalition,” Flores said.
The Ricketts campaign and Nebraska Republicans quickly used Kleeb’s tweet as its latest attempt to paint Osborn as a “Democrat.”
Will Coup, a Ricketts campaign spokesperson, said, “Fake Dan Osborn can continue pretending to be an independent, but he is endorsed by the Nebraska Democratic Party, funded by Democrats” and backs the party’s positions, which he called extreme.
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State voting records show Osborn has been a registered nonpartisan since at least 2004. Osborn has said that he maintains his independence from the Democratic Party and, if elected, won’t caucus with either party. He is known for helping lead the Kellogg’s strike in 2021.
Osborn told the Examiner on Thursday that he is running to “fix a broken Washington” and that voters from all different types of political leanings believe in what he’s doing and want to help.
“Pete Ricketts has failed every single Nebraskan, and every single Nebraskan is welcome to join our campaign,” Osborn said.
Osborn is campaigning this time against a former two-term governor with Nebraska’s dominant political operation, but the labor leader has populism on his side. His bid comes as both political parties are increasingly unpopular, and some voters are losing faith in institutions and seeking alternatives.
The Ricketts campaign has relentlessly criticized Osborn for weeks, pointing out that he uses ActBlue, a fundraising tool often used by Democrats. Some other nonpartisan and Independent candidates in different states avoided using ActBlue to keep from being associated with the Democratic Party.
Nebraska Republican Party chair Mary Jane Truemper piled on Thursday with a tweet, writing “Nothing says ‘Independent’ like a full endorsement from the Chair of the Nebraska Democrat Party.”
Osborn in 2024 flirted with seeking Democratic and third-party support until it was too late for the Democrats to run a candidate of their own, which led to some grumbling by some of his potential supporters on the left.
Fischer, during that race, labeled Osborn a Democrat in sheep’s clothing, but largely ignored him until after he had built a populist brand.
Toward the end of the race, Fischer and Nebraska Republicans alleged that many of the millions that poured into Osborn’s 2024 campaign had come from Democrats and Democratic-leaning donors. They often highlighted that the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee gave him money once national leaders saw his momentum.
“I didn’t ask for that money,” Osborn told the Examiner earlier this month. “This time around, I’m not going to ask for it again.”
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