All articles tagged with #pete ricketts
Pete Ricketts won Nebraska's U.S. Senate Republican primary with about 81.7% of 165,715 votes, defeating Todd Knobel and Debb Axtell Schultz; Cindy Burbank captured the Democratic primary with about 89.2% of 102,122 votes. The AP called both races, and The Cook Political Report still lists the general-election race as Likely Republican.
Democrat Cindy Burbank won Nebraska’s Senate primary, potentially clearing the path for independent Dan Osborn to challenge GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts in November if she concedes. Osborn, who ran as an independent in 2024 and says he won’t caucus with either party, has been positioned to face Ricketts, while Democrats debated backing Osborn after a last-minute opponent raised concerns of a GOP plant. Burbank says she’ll drop out only if polling shows she cannot win, and would remove her name if needed; Ricketts has Trump’s endorsement and is highlighting tax cuts as he defends his seat.
Nebraska’s state primaries center a contentious U.S. Senate race where two Democrats, Cindy Burbank and Bill Forbes, spar over who is a genuine candidate, with the party backing Burbank in the primary and Osborn in the general election. Forbes’ late entry and Burbank’s reinstatement after a court ruling underscore intra-party tensions as Republican incumbent Pete Ricketts pursues a full term, potentially facing independent Osborn in November. The slate also includes governor, U.S. House in the 2nd District, and 11 state legislature primaries, with voting rules, early voting patterns, and AP-only declarations of winners guiding coverage.