2026 United States Senate election in Nebraska

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2026 United States Senate election in Nebraska
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  3x4.svg Osborn Headshot 1 (cropped).jpg
NomineeTBD Dan Osborn
Party Republican Independent
Incumbent U.S. senator

Pete Ricketts
Republican



The 2026 United States Senate election in Nebraska will be held on November 3, 2026, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Nebraska. Primary elections will be held on May 12, 2026. Nebraska has been represented in the U.S. Senate exclusively by Republicans since 2013.

Contents

Incumbent Republican senator Pete Ricketts was appointed to the seat in 2023 after the resignation of Ben Sasse. He won the 2024 special election to serve out the remaining two years of Sasse's term and is seeking a full term. Democrats have indicated they will not field a candidate in the race. Dan Osborn, an independent who ran in the 2024 Senate race, announced his candidacy in July 2025.

Republican primary

Candidates

Declared

Filed paperwork

  • Edward Dunn [2]

Endorsements

Pete Ricketts
U.S. Executive Branch officials
Organizations

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Pete Ricketts (R)$1,556,983$621,121$1,458,781
Source: Federal Election Commission [5]

Democratic primary

Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, had stated that the party does not intend to recruit a candidate in this race, similar to their actions taken in 2024. [6] On July 31, 2025, Kleeb personally endorsed Osborn. [7]

Independents

Candidates

Declared

Endorsements

Dan Osborn (I)
Individuals

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2025
CandidateRaisedSpentCash on hand
Dan Osborn (I)$260,222$199,185$124,203
Source: Federal Election Commission [5]

General election

Predictions

SourceRankingAs of
Inside Elections [9] Solid RAugust 12, 2025
The Cook Political Report [10] Solid RAugust 18, 2025
Sabato's Crystal Ball [11] Likely RAugust 12, 2025
Race To The WH [12] Likely RSeptember 4, 2025

Polling

Pete Ricketts vs. Dan Osborn

Poll sourceDate(s)
administered		Sample
size [a] 		Margin
of error		Pete
Ricketts (R)		Dan
Osborn (I)		Undecided
Lake Research Partners (D) [13] July 23–29, 2025900 (LV)± 3.3%46%47%7%
Change Research (D) [14] [A] March 28 – April 1, 2025524 (LV)± 4.6%46%45%9%

Notes

  1. ↑ Key:
    A – all adults
    RV – registered voters
    LV – likely voters
    V – unclear

Partisan clients

  1. ↑ Poll commissioned by Osborn's exploratory campaign

References

  1. ↑ Weaver, Al (January 12, 2023). "Former Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts tapped to fill Sasse's Senate seat". The Hill . Retrieved January 12, 2023. Pillen also noted that Ricketts has committed to running in 2024 and 2026
  2. ↑ "DUNN, EDWARD MR. - Candidate overview". FEC.gov. January 1, 2019. Retrieved May 18, 2025.
  3. ↑ Salinas, Juan (April 10, 2025). "Nebraska's Dan Osborn statistically tied with U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in poll". Nebraska Examiner . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
  4. ↑ "- AIPAC Political Portal". candidates.aipacpac.org. Retrieved April 28, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "2026 Election United States Senate - Nebraska". fec.gov. Federal Election Commission . Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  6. ↑ Nir, David; Singer, Jeff (July 9, 2025). "Morning Digest: Nebraska independent who spooked GOP launches another Senate bid". The Downballot. Retrieved July 10, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Salinas, Juan (July 31, 2025). "Nebraska Dems chair 'supporting' Dan Osborn vs. U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts". States Newsroom . Retrieved August 6, 2025.
  8. ↑ Vakil, Caroline (July 8, 2025). "Dan Osborn launches independent Senate bid against Ricketts in Nebraska". The Hill . Retrieved July 8, 2025.
  9. ↑ "Senate Ratings". Inside Elections. Retrieved January 14, 2025.
  10. ↑ "2026 CPR Senate Race Ratings". Cook Political Report. Retrieved February 11, 2025.
  11. ↑ "2026 Senate ratings". Sabato's Crystal Ball. Retrieved February 13, 2025.
  12. ↑ "2026 Senate Forecast". Race to the WH. Retrieved March 19, 2025.
  13. ↑ @daveweigel (September 16, 2025). "#NESen poll by Lake Research (D) from late summer, shared w me: Osborn (I): 47% Ricketts (R): 46% Osborn w higher favs; sample is 58-40 Trump-Harris, a little bluer than 2024. Right after announcing, before any real R messaging (July 23 – 29, 900 LVs, 3.3% MOE)" (Tweet). Retrieved September 15, 2025– via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Wegley, Andrew (April 10, 2025). "First poll in potential Nebraska Senate race shows Osborn down 1% to Ricketts". Lincoln Journal Star . Retrieved April 10, 2025.
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