Some good news for the GOP: Republican Pete Ricketts has won Nebraska's U.S. Senate race, defeating his "independent" challenger Dan Osborn.
With more than 95 percent of the vote counted, Ricketts received 50.38 percent of the vote to Osborn's 43.69 percent.
Decision Desk HQ projects Pete Ricketts wins the NE US Senate General Election #DecisionMade: 1:34 AM EST Follow live results here: https://t.co/taURyjq661 https://t.co/qR11wSsHt9
— Decision Desk HQ (@DecisionDeskHQ) November 4, 2026
Ricketts, a former two-term Nebraska governor, was appointed to the Senate in 2023 following the resignation of Republican Ben Sasse, who left Congress to become president of the University of Florida. Ricketts then won a 2024 special election to serve out the remainder of Sasse's term and was running for his first full six-year term.
Osborn, a Navy veteran and former union leader, was making his second run for the U.S. Senate. In 2024, he challenged Republican Sen. Deb Fischer as an independent, losing by fewer than seven percentage points despite Donald Trump carrying Nebraska by around 20 points.
Although Osborn ran again this year as an independent, he received the political and financial backing of the Democrat Party. He was expected to caucus with the Democrats if he won.
Polling suggested a competitive contest in the final stretch. Decision Desk HQ's final polling average showed Ricketts leading Osborn 47.7 percent to 45.6 percent, a margin of just 2.1 percentage points. Despite the narrow polling margin, the Cook Political Report rated the race Likely Republican heading into Election Day.
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