Sen. Pete Ricketts warns Beatrice crowd of ‘fake Dan Osborn’ at campaign event

Dozens of Pete Ricketts supporters made for standing room only inside the Mechanical Room, a speakeasy located in the basement of a brewery in downtown Beatrice, Wednesday evening.

The U.S. senator representing Nebraska began his campaign speech highlighting his record of reducing taxes and improving public safety during his eight years as the state’s governor.

“We were able to cut the state income taxes for Nebraska families,” he said. “We were able to eliminate the state income tax on Social Security and also eliminate the state income tax on military retirement benefits.”

As senator, Ricketts said he’s taken Nebraska ideas to Washington D.C. and helped the state’s biofuels industry by making 45Z tax credits for renewable fuels permanent.

He emphasized his support of legislation to secure the southern border, strengthen the military and promote housing construction.

Ricketts also took aim at his 2026 opponent, Dan Osborn – an independent who lost a close race to Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024.

Ricketts favorite pejorative adjective for Osborn soon became clear. The senator referred to his opponent as “Fake Dan Osborn” 14 times in a speech under 15 minutes.

“He's going to tell you he's fighting for you, but he's going to be working for the people who pay his bills,” Ricketts said. “And that's those folks in New York and California. That's why he is fake Dan Osborn.”

Ricketts criticized Osborn’s use of ActBlue, a fundraising platform primarily used by Democrats, to process campaign donations.

At a campaign event Monday evening, Osborn said he called WinRed, the Republican equivalent, but they declined to work with him.

“It's just a place where people can go and donate money,” Osborn said. “I wouldn't put too much stock into that.”

While Osborn campaigned on his opposition to the “Big, Beautiful Bill,” Ricketts characterized Osborn’s lack of support as a liability.

“That bill passed 50-50 with JD Vance, our Vice President, voting to break the tie,” Ricketts said. “If fake Dan Osborn had been there, that bill doesn't happen. That's the stakes that we have, and that's why this election is so important.”

Ricketts said the millions of dollars Osborn received from Democrats in the last election shows who he would represent. Ricketts also portrayed the upcoming race as one in which his conservative ideas would have to overcome a deluge of cash for his opponent.

“The Democrats are going to pour millions and millions of dollars into Nebraska again,” he said. “We're not going to have that much money.”

In 2024, Osborn raised $15 million, while Fischer raised just shy of $9 million. Ricketts raised over $5.8 million for his own special election, while his opponent, Democrat Preston Love Jr. raised short of $300,000.

Ricketts has already begun running campaign ads, 14 months out from the general election.

To close, Ricketts encouraged the crowd to tell their friends and family about Osborn’s liberal positions and make the commitment to vote.

Ricketts was first appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2023 by Gov. Jim Pillen. He defeated Love in the 2024 special election by 25%.

In 2006, Ricketts lost to Democratic incumbent Sen. Ben Nelson by nearly 28%. Ricketts remains the most recent Republican to lose a general election for U.S. Senate in Nebraska.

Sabato’s Crystal Ball, an election handicapper from the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, lists the race as likely Republican, the second highest rating for the G.O.P.