Dan Osborn, an independent who ran for a U.S. Senate seat last year, is weighing a run against GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts. Osborn was surprisingly competitive against Republican incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer last year, receiving 47% of the vote.
Osborn was able to outperform the national Democratic ticket, receiving a higher percentage of votes in comparison to other candidates running against Republican opponents in Senate races, according to The Nation.
On Sunday, he held an event at Fuse Coworking in Lincoln, hoping to hear opinions on his potential race from the roughly 100 people who attended. Osborn reflected on the first time he held an event at the space, saying he was only able to fill up a small room.
“I've been paying attention and the sentiment that I get from people now more than ever is a time for, you know, populist, true populist people,” Osborn said about the current landscape of politics.
Populism–the movement that helped President Donald Trump secure a second term – is also being used by Democratic office holders. Both parties equally criticize so-called elites and express the need for movements to cater to the social demands of people, according to Marcia Macaulay, author of Populism and Populist Discourse in North America.
The former union labor leader said he is attempting to build a broad coalition by engaging with the same constituency that Ricketts is targeting.
“I tell people I would love to get, you know, win red and get conservative money, because I think fiscally, I'm more conservative than Pete Ricketts is,” Osborn said.
Ricketts, in a call with reporters on Wednesday, did not directly comment on the possibility of facing Osborn, but he did tout his record serving the people of Nebraska.
“I've got a record track record as governor and now as senator and serving the people in Nebraska, and you’ve got to go out and earn each and every time,” Ricketts said, noting that he controlled spending and delivered tax relief.
“So I'm going to campaign around the state like I always have… I did town halls this past week, as I've done for 10 years, as I've been in elected office in Nebraska,” he said. “So you got to go out and ask for the votes, and that's what I'm going to continue to do."
During the last election cycle, Osborn received criticism from the Republican party for being a “Democrat in disguise” in regard to his campaign receiving funds from Democratic donors.
“I'm not quite sure how I'm associating with those people, I ran against a Republican without a Democrat in the race, so naturally I'm going to get Democratic money,” Osborn said.
Osborn said he does not look at every transaction and where it comes from, using political action committees as an example.
“That's what people need to understand, I don't have anything to do with those. I can't and Deb Fischer couldn't have anything to do with hers. It's illegal,” Osborn said. “I don't know who gets rich off of those, but I imagine somebody's making some good money off of those. They'll take anybody's money. They don't care.”
For now, Osborn said he is waiting on the green light from his family, among other factors, to officially announce his run.
“It's my role in life, to raise a family and protect them at all costs,” said Osborn. “We're also waiting for the mayor's race to end (in Omaha), you know, I don't want to give any more noise to those candidates that are running.”