Nebraska’s U.S. Senate candidates met up at the Nebraska State Fair for a debate Tuesday night.
A panel of Nebraska reporters asked incumbent Republican Pete Ricketts and Independent Dan Osborn questions as about 200 attendees crowded into the BigIron Event Center for the hourlong sparring match.
The event was hosted and streamed live by News Channel Nebraska. Reporters from the Nebraska Examiner, Flatwater Free Press and the Omaha World-Herald served as the panelists.
The candidates wasted no time accusing each other of being bankrolled by corporate interests, wealthy donors and out-of-state interests.
“If [Osborn] were in charge of the U.S. Senate, he would hand control over to the Democrats because he shares their liberal values, and because he's advertising in California,” Ricketts said in his opening remarks. “Now, folks, he can't be honest with you about that, because he knows Nebraskans are not buying the liberal nonsense Democrats are selling.”
In his opening statement, Osborn said Washington D.C. has “rigged the game” of politics with wealth – which he criticized Ricketts for taking part in.
“Their party bosses cater to their donors, and now we've seen bad policy, and we've seen the biggest transition of wealth in human history, up to the 0.001%,” Osborn said. “But you know, Pete's going to talk about this guy that I don't know. His name's ‘Democrat Dan.’ We should actually have a third podium here tonight for him. [Ricketts] wants to use all his greatest hits – bathrooms, guns, you name it – he'll say it."
As an independent, Osborn needed signatures from registered Nebraska voters who wanted to see his name printed on the ballot. He qualified in July after the campaign collected nearly 13,000 signatures – three times the required amount.
Osborn and his campaign attribute the success to grassroots support. His opponents say his popularity is being manufactured by out-of-state interests.
“Democrat Dan is trying to sell you a message about how he's this regular guy from Nebraska, but he's being bought and paid for by people on the coast who want a senator from California or New York, not one from Nebraska,” Ricketts said.
Ricketts called his opponent "Democrat Dan" about 25 times at the debate. He said the out-of-state money is coming from super PACs – large political funding groups that don’t have to report exactly who their individual donors are.
“He starts talking about dark money, but he's received money through PACs that take that corporate dark money,” Ricketts said. “So he has actually been out there saying, oh, he doesn't like this stuff, but he's one of the beneficiaries of it.”
Osborn said he doesn’t work directly with the super PACs, saying his campaign is “powered by the people” and small-dollar donations from Nebraskans.
“I don't know who these people are, and they raise money in my name, and those are the ones that run ads. And if it doesn't say, ‘I'm Dan Osborn, or I'm Pete Ricketts, I approve this message,’ that's dark money working.”
Osborn levied similar criticism against Ricketts, saying his personal wealth and corporate interests control his campaign.
According to Federal Election Commission (FEC) data, the Pete Ricketts for Senate campaign has about $6.9 million in cash on hand as of June 2026 reports. The Osborn for Senate campaign has $2.4 million.
About 37% of Ricketts’ campaign dollars came from Nebraskans compared to 17% of Osborn’s.
Cost of living, national security
Discussion of campaign finance and partisan control bled into each round of the debate. Osborn and Ricketts had 10 questions to tell Nebraskans where they stood on key election issues.
As the conflict with Iran stretches past the six-month mark, many Americans, farmers, ranchers and manufacturers are dealing with higher prices for gasoline. Food costs are up, including the price of homegrown beef. Healthcare costs have also soared for many Americans who use the Affordable Care Act, and some will lose coverage due to federal changes to Medicaid.
Ricketts said tax cuts passed by Republicans are giving more money back to Americans, which eases cost-of-living issues.
“It puts a real pressure on families' budgets, and that's why we're working so hard to put more money back in your pockets through the Working Families Tax Cut,” Ricketts said. “We were able to avoid a $2,400 tax increase that would have happened if we didn't pass that law.”
Osborn said he believes tax and spending cuts are necessary, but the bill Ricketts referred to – officially titled the One Big Beautiful Bill Act – should have been more balanced.
“That act was passed by a tiebreaker for J.D. Vance. So, if I would have beaten Deb Fischer and operating as a true independent in Washington D.C., that would have been leverage,” Osborn said. “I wouldn't have allowed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act to strip a trillion dollars away from Medicaid, and people's health care [is] going to be hurting.”
On the Iran war, Ricketts said the U.S. should do whatever is necessary to stop the Iranians from having a nuclear weapon.
“A country that chants ‘death to America’ cannot be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. That would put our kids at risk. It would put our allies at risk. We must make sure that Iran never gets that nuclear weapon,” Ricketts said. “We have to continue to put pressure on them. That means sanctions. That means blockading their ports. That means finding other ways to get oil out of the Strait of Hormuz.”
Osborn agrees, but he says domestic interests must be weighed at the same time.
“I was talking to a row crop farmer not too long ago. He does about 2,000 acres, and he told me that he had to write a $50,000 check more for his inputs in fertilizer than if he was able to put that order in pre-war,” he said. “We have to stop digging this hole in the war in Iran. We have to give Congress back the power to act as a co-equal branch of government because only Congress can declare war.”
Osborn’s thoughts on tariffs were similar, saying that some tariffs could be positive, but they should be controlled by Congress. Ricketts said the U.S. should use tariffs to “level the playing field” against countries treating Americans unfairly.
“Now, when it comes to tariffs and making sure we've got a level playing field, I want to make sure we're defending agriculture, and that's what I'll always do,” Ricketts said.
Artificial intelligence also came up as a national security interest.
Ricketts said there are ways to develop data centers and beat China in the AI race without compromising public resources.
“When it comes to data centers, local control is the name of the game. If communities are considering a data center, what they should do is negotiate first. They are in charge. They're in the driver's seat. They should make sure, ‘yes, you shouldn't impact my power rates. You should conserve water – closed-loop systems.’ But then they can ask for more [in property taxes],” Ricketts said.
Osborn agreed.
“We can win this race with China, but we could also do it with guardrails to ensure that data centers aren't going in spots where the the Ogallala Aquifer is in trouble, and with community agreements from people who live in the areas that should be benefiting from these going in,” he said.”
Ricketts and Osborn also agreed President Donald Trump’s decision to let in more foreign ground beef imports for 90 days would not help Nebraska’s ranchers and beef market.
“I think this is where Senator Ricketts and I will see eye-to-eye – that this is a colossal mistake for our cattle ranchers,” Osborn said.
Ricketts said he had encouraged President Trump to consider long-term solutions to bringing down the grocery price of beef instead.
“Right now, they're trying to make decisions on their heifers, and this actually makes it more difficult on them to keep those heifers so they can expand the size of the herd,” he said. “Expanding the size of the herd is how we get long term to lower prices for consumers and families.”
The final challenge
Osborn ran against Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024, who won her third term after beating him by less than 7 points. The close race defined Osborn as a candidate who could bring an actual challenge to Nebraska's deep-red Republican rule.
A win by Osborn could narrow an already at-risk Republican majority in Congress. Midterm outcomes rarely favor the President’s party.
“This is what breaks my heart: Looking at the polarization of politics in this country, we have neighbors fighting with neighbors, we have family members that don't want to go to Thanksgiving dinner with each other, because politics gets brought up,” Osborn said in his closing statement. “When I set out in 2024, it was to bring people together. I'm tired of the division that has been created here in this country off a lot of different issues – which my opponent has paid for himself to keep us divided.”
Ricketts has held his U.S. Senate seat since 2023. He was appointed to the role by Gov. Jim Pillen following the resignation of Sen. Ben Sasse, who left to lead the University of Florida. Ricketts was elected in a 2024 special election.
Previously, Ricketts served as a two-term Nebraska governor from 2015 to 2023.
“We've been through a lot together here in Nebraska: pandemics, floods, wildfires, tornadoes. We've also grown the state, provided record tax relief, kept people safe – I've always done what's best for Nebraska. You know me, and you know what I'll do. I will lead with Nebraska first, and I deliver,” Ricketts closed. “My opponent's just the opposite, and you heard it here tonight.”
The general election is Tuesday, Nov. 3.