Shenanigans in the Senate Race?
Democrats Accuse Primary Candidate of Being “Spoiler”
By Gordon Hopkins
An already contentious race for the seat currently held by U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts has turned even nastier, with allegations that one of the candidates is a “spoiler.”
While ten Nebraska candidates have filed for the U.S. Senate, including Ricketts himself, election coverage has largely focused on the battle between Ricketts and a candidate who has not yet officially on the ballot, Dan Osborne. Preferring to run as an independent, Osborn is gathering signatures necessary to get on the November ballot as a nonpartisan. Those signatures are due August 3, 2026.
Osborn previously ran against U.S. Senator Deb Fischer in 2024 and lost, 53.35 to 46.65 percent.
The Nebraska Democratic Party (NDP) opted not to run a senate candidate in 2026. According to Jane Kleeb, chair of the NDP, “The Nebraska Democratic Party made a deliberate, principled decision not to field a candidate in the U.S. Senate race. 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 Nebraska Democratic Party made a deliberate, principled decision not to field a candidate in the U.S. Senate race. 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.”
William J. Forbes filed for election as a Democrat but without the support of the NDP, which has accused Ricketts’ campaign of being behind Forbes’ candidacy. In a statement, Kleeb said, “The Nebraska Democratic Party today calls on William Forbes’ Senate candidacy for exactly what it is: a political maneuver engineered by Pete Ricketts to split the opposition vote and protect his Senate seat.”
Kleeb further recommended changing campaign laws, “Finally, this manipulation by Ricketts and Forbes makes clear that Nebraska law must change. State parties should be required to certify a candidate’s application before they can appear on the ballot under a party’s name, as many other states already require. Non-serious candidates running to trick voters, like William Forbes, should never be able to exploit the democratic process this way. The Nebraska Democratic Party will pursue this reform.”
The Rickett campaign has denied any involvement in Forbes’ candidacy. Campaign spokesperson Will Coup said, “Dan Osborn’s conspiracy theory is completely false. The Ricketts campaign had no role in the Democratic primary.”
There is also a second Democratic candidate, Cindy Burbank. She makes the same claim about Forbes in a statement on her campaign page, “Pete Ricketts, who is running for reelection, is putting in a candidate loyal to him in the DEMOCRATIC primary – to split the vote against him, so he wins easily. He’s running an anti-abortion activist named Bill Forbes, who has posted in support of Pete Ricketts!”
Burbank wrote, “He knows he’s losing to Dan Osborn and this is his plan to cheat his way to victory. We can’t let that happen. Support me – and I’ll make sure Pete Ricketts’s stooge never gets anywhere near our November ballot!”
FJN has reached out to Forbes for comment. As of press time, no response was received.
There are currently four other Republicans on the primary ballot: Todd Knobel, Eric Mortimore, Debb Axtell Schultz and Mac Stevens. Also on the primary ballot are two candidates representing the Legal Marijuana NOW party, Earl Starkey and Mike Marvin.
