Independent US Senate candidate Dan Osborn builds huge edge in individual donations
Osborn has outraised his opponent, Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, by a margin of 4-to-1.
Fueled by support from thousands of individual donors, independent U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn outraised Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by a 4-to-1 margin, according to the latest spending reports.
Osborn, who is locked in an unexpectedly tight race with the two-term senator, raised $3.2 million from July through September, according to the latest report filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Fischer reported raising just $835,000 during that same period.
Osborn does not accept donations from outside groups and political action committees, relying heavily on individual contributions.
Fischer has accepted money from outside groups since she was first elected in 2012, particularly pharmaceutical companies, which have given her more than $205,000.
Osborn spokesman Dustin Wahl said the huge edge in individual donations reflects broad support for Osborn.
“Dan Osborn had the biggest quarter of any Senate candidate in Nebraska history,” Wahl said in an email to the Nebraska Independent. “That’s because Nebraskans of all backgrounds — independents, conservatives, liberals, and everyone in between — recognize that Dan is the real deal who isn’t bought by corporations or a party boss. He will put Nebraskans first in the Senate.”
The Fischer campaign did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
While Osborn has held dozens of town halls across Nebraska’s 500-mile breadth, Fischer has held none. She has also refused to debate Osborn.
Meanwhile, the two sides are tangled in vicious broadsides of TV and social media ads.
In one ad, Osborn hits Fischer for taking money from corporate interests. In another, he blasts Fischer for abandoning Nebraskans.
One Fischer ad paints Osborn as a “dangerous Trojan horse” by implying that he is a Democrat disguised as an independent.
Another features former President Donald Trump attacking Osborn as a “Bernie Sanders-type.”
The Trump ad could prove beneficial to Fischer.
Trump remains immensely popular in Nebraska. In the 2016 election, Trump won Nebraska with some 59% of the vote to Hillary Clinton’s 34%. In 2020, Trump won the state 59% to 39% over Joe Biden, according to BallotPedia.
Osborn’s challenge has been overcoming the huge Republican voter registration advantage in Nebraska.
Statewide, Republicans make up about 49% of Nebraska’s 1.2 million registered voters, while Democrats make up 27% and independents about 22%.
Former U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson was the last Democrat to win a statewide election in Nebraska. Nelson retired in 2011, and no Democrat has won statewide since. A Republican has won every presidential election in Nebraska since Richard Nixon’s first win in 1968.
