By It could be the surprise of the election season. The Cook Political Report announced that the race for Senate in Nebraska has gotten close enough to make Republicans nervous.
The Hill writes that Deb Fischer has suddenly found herself in a tough fight with independent Dan Osborn, a union leader. Cook shifted that race from “likely” to “lean Republican.”
“The Nebraska ratings change specifically came hours after the Senate Leadership Fund, a GOP super PAC run by allies of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), announced they were boosting Fischer to the tune of $3 million — an unexpected infusion in the ruby-red state.
‘Overall, this race continues to be too close for Republicans’ comfort,’ Taylor wrote. ‘While publicly Democrats deny they have a rooting interest here — and Osborn has maintained he wouldn’t caucus with either party if he’s elected — an upset win by Osborn could factor in to mitigate a loss for Democrats in Montana.’”
Osborn has been accused of pretending to be moderate while being backed by the far left, but in an even more startling display, the “independent” challenging Fischer effectively admitted that he takes bribes, writes The Washington Examiner.
Dan Osborn, a U.S. Navy veteran and industrial mechanic, has mounted an unusually competitive challenge in the Cornhusker State against Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE). The independent candidate has sought to link Fischer to the “swamp” in Washington, D.C., claiming the Republican “spent 12 years grifting” off corporate influence. At the same time, Osborn is receiving a financial boost in the 2024 election from a dark money group in the nation’s capital, as well as from billionaire Democrat Reid Hoffman.
On a since-deleted Osborn campaign fundraising page, the candidate claimed he was “now accepting corporate PAC funds.”
“While Senator Deb Fischer has taken millions of dollars in corporate PAC funds, I am willing to sell my vote for low five figures, max,” read the page, archived versions of which are available through the online Wayback Machine software between April and September.
“If you have a corporate PAC, I pledge to you: I’ll take orders from you just like Senator Fischer at a fraction of the cost,” the page said in what appeared to be a tongue-in-cheek tone.
The newspaper previously reported that much of Osburn’s campaign has been funded by billionaires while pretending to be “grassroots.” Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety, a super PAC, has spent $432,000 on ads targeting Fischer and promoting independent candidate Osborn, according to federal records. While the group claims to represent working-class Nebraskans, its funding appears to come largely from outside the state, particularly from Democratic sources in Washington, D.C., including LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman and the massive Democratic dark money group Sixteen Thirty Fund. The PAC has criticized Fischer for her ties to the “D.C. Swamp,” even as it relies heavily on dark money for its own efforts.
Hoffman, who had connections to Jeff Epstein, has declared himself Trump’s biggest enemy, first funding Nikki Haley’s primary campaign and then seeing his right-hand political consultant pitch the conspiracy theory about Trump faking his own assassination.
Financial disclosures reveal that Hoffman and Sixteen Thirty Fund have been major donors to Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety, contributing a combined $100,000, while a third entity, Retire Career Politicians, received a large cash infusion from Sixteen Thirty Fund and has spent over $2 million supporting Osborn. This has led to accusations that the PAC is an “astroturfed” operation, funded by national Democratic megadonors under the guise of grassroots advocacy. The group’s reliance on Democratic dark money while attacking Fischer for “Swamp” ties has drawn criticism for hypocrisy.
Republicans, including campaign finance expert Dan Backer pointed out that such funding illustrates a pattern of national Democratic influence in local campaigns, using astroturfed organizations to attack GOP candidates.
“This is just another Democratic astroturfed operation,” said Dan Backer, a campaign finance expert and attorney in Washington, D.C. “They’ll complain about the ‘Swamp’ while relying on dark money and literally the guy who started LinkedIn.”
National Republican Senatorial Campaign spokesman Philip Letsou accused Osborn of being a puppet for the Democratic agenda, backed by far-left donors like Hoffman. Despite the criticism, Nebraska Railroaders for Public Safety continues its efforts to support Osborn, paying substantial amounts to co-founder Hampton’s firm for media production.
“Osborn is Chuck Schumer’s sock-puppet who wants to eliminate the filibuster and pass the Democrats’ radical agenda,” Letsou said. The Osborn campaign did not return a request for comment.
The Hill reported that despite all the money, Fischer maintains a health lead. “According to a new internal poll from the Fischer campaign, the incumbent leads by 6 percentage points — 49 to 43 percent support — over Osborn, an independent who has seen his campaign surprisingly give Fischer a run for her money. Another 7 percent of voters are undecided.”
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