Dan Osborn held a town hall meeting in Crete, Nebraska, this past Sunday, Aug. 23, as part of his 93-county tour. Osborn is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Nebraska National Guard who led the 2021 strike at Kellogg’s Omaha plant. He is running as an independent for the Nebraska State Senate.
He ran for senate in 2024 against Deb Fischer, and although he lost, he came only seven points behind Fischer, the closest an independent has ever gotten in a Nebraska U.S. Senate race. Osborn’s campaign is strong on agricultural and economic policies, with a focus on representing working- and middle-class constituents.
He began his opening remarks discussing his career in the Armed Forces before segueing to the ongoing conflict with Iran.
“We all have the advantage of hindsight in 2026, knowing that we are worse off now in this war than when we started,” Osborn said. “In the cost of lives, 19 service members have lost their lives. We see the costs in grocery stores, and in our gas pumps. No one is feeling it like farmers and rural folk, anybody associated with agriculture.”
Concerning agriculture, Osborn opposes the ongoing tariffs and wishes to protect the Ogallala Aquifer. Senator Pete Ricketts, who Osborn is running against, released a statement on Aug. 21 in support of Nebraska farmers and ranchers. Issues like these are a hot topic for the large population of Nebraskans involved in agricultural industries.
“I believe in capitalism, and I believe in a free market,” Osborn said. “Where we are at now is not a free market. It’s a controlled market by the very few.”
Another aspect of his campaign is reforms aimed at stopping government corruption. He supports Congress passing a stock trade ban and banning former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists. He opposes lifelong Supreme Court justice appointments and believes redistricting should only occur in Census years.
“We all share this planet. That’s the thing we have in common, like it or not,” Osborn said. In speaking on immigration, he spoke negatively about the detention centers such as the one in McCook, Nebraska, and some of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration policies. However, he also believes the Biden administration did not do enough for the border, so while he is in support of finding ways to make immigrants natural citizens, he believes that needs to be paired with strong border policies. Sen. Ricketts supports strong border security and has used his time in the Senate to support the One Big Beautiful Bill Act as well as the work of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) under the Trump administration.
Osborn and Ricketts will both be on the ballot to represent Nebraska in the senate. The general election is scheduled for Nov. 3. Republicans have not lost a senate election in Nebraska since 2006. If Osborn wins, he would be the first independent candidate to secure a Nebraska Senate seat since 1936.
