Fischer, Osborn tout labor endorsements in U.S. Senate campaigns

Incumbent Republican Sen. Deb Fischer and independent Dan Osborn announced their endorsements from labor groups following Labor Day weekend.

At the Omaha Firefighters Hall Tuesday morning, Fischer was joined by union representatives to share her 13 endorsements from labor unions and trade associations, including the Nebraska Farmers Union, Nebraska Hospital Association, and several police and firefighting organizations.

Fischer said her vote for the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and her work on the Recruit and Retain Act for police officers helped her gain new endorsements from labor groups in the current election cycle.

“This overwhelming support is not something that I take for granted," she said. "In fact, my support for labor has continued to grow year after year and is now more than double the level that I had in my campaign six years ago.”

Meanwhile, Osborn shared his campaign’s endorsements from 23 labor unions, including the Nebraska AFL-CIO, United Auto Workers and Communications Workers of America.

Osborn was the former union president of BCTGM Local 50, one of the organizations that endorsed Osborn's campaign.

Over the weekend, a poll from SurveyUSA and Split Ticket found Fischer with a one-point lead over Osborn in a survey of more than 1,200 registered voters. The poll is the first external poll of the Senate race, meaning it did not come from either candidate.

Osborn said the poll mirrors what he has seen from his campaign.

“This poll matches up with the momentum we’re seeing every day in Nebraska,” he said. “I’m most proud of the support this poll shows from across the political spectrum."

Despite the close poll, Split Ticket, the election forecasting group that commissioned the poll, continues to show both Senate races in Nebraska as safe Republican.

"We’d still think Fischer is extremely likely to win, given the time left in this race, the number of undecideds, and the mystery box that Osborn is to many voters at the moment," Split Ticket wrote in its polling analysis. "In fact, we think she’ll gain significantly as the election nears."

The Fischer campaign has indicated it will conduct additional internal polling sometime in September.