Nebraska Senate 2026
A sourced guide to the Nebraska U.S. Senate race between Dan Osborn and Pete Ricketts: every public poll, the ratings and where official results will appear. This is not an endorsement.
Our Final CallRicketts Holds Off OsbornRead why →The Nebraska senate race: history, data and the final week
Ricketts calls his opponent "Democrat Dan," while Osborn says he will not caucus with either party (IVN/The Fulcrum, Oct 28). Trump rallied for Ricketts in Grand Island on Oct 5 as Nebraska ranchers objected to a federal move to import more foreign beef (Gray DC). Outside groups have spent heavily for both candidates. October public polls ranged from Osborn +1 (YouGov) to Ricketts +6 (NYT/Siena, Oct 23-29).
How this state voted before
Historic vote shares describe previous electorates, not a projection of the 2026 outcome.
Meet the candidates
Dan Osborn
Industrial mechanic from Omaha and former president of BCTGM Local 50G, who led the 77-day 2021 strike at Kellogg's Omaha plant; he served four years in the Navy aboard the USS Constellation and later in the National Guard. Running as an independent in 2024, he lost to Sen. Deb Fischer 53.19% to 46.52%. He entered the 2026 race on July 8, 2025 and qualified for the ballot by petition.
Pete Ricketts
Governor of Nebraska from 2015 to 2023 and earlier chief operating officer at Ameritrade, the company founded by his father, Joe Ricketts. Gov. Jim Pillen appointed him on Jan 12, 2023 to the seat vacated by Ben Sasse. He won the 2024 special election for the rest of the term, 62.6% to 37.4% over Democrat Preston Love Jr.
Also on the ballot: Robin Richards (Nebraska Working People Party), Chuck Conboy (America First Party Nebraska) and Mike Marvin (Legal Marijuana NOW), who withdrew Aug 21 and endorsed Osborn but is still listed in pollsters' ballot questions. There is no Democrat: nominee Cindy Burbank withdrew in July.
Ratings and money
Cook moved it from Likely R to Lean R on Oct. 30, and Inside Elections from Lean R to Tilt R on Oct. 29.
Roll Call (Oct 16): Osborn raised nearly $4.1 million in the third quarter with $2.2 million on hand; Ricketts raised $2.2 million, including $1 million of his own money, with $1.1 million on hand. Newsweek (Oct 17): six outside groups reported $12.8 million in independent expenditures backing Osborn through Oct 13, and The Wall Street Journal reported the Senate Leadership Fund is spending $15 million in Nebraska for Ricketts.
Race timeline
Primaries: Ricketts wins GOP nod with 81.5%
Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank asks to leave the ballot
Mike Marvin (Legal Marijuana NOW) drops out, endorses Osborn
Ricketts-Osborn debate at the Nebraska State Fair
Trump rallies for Ricketts in Grand Island
Election Day
Polls and polling average
Every public poll of Dan Osborn vs. Pete Ricketts we have tracked since Feb 5: 14 in all, 7 of them from independent pollsters that count toward the average. Updated October 31, 2026. Tap a dot for the poll’s details and source; switch to Margin for the clearest read on a phone. This is published polling, not a forecast.
Loading the interactive poll tracker… Every public poll we track for this race, newest first:
| Fielded | Pollster / source | Sample | Osborn (I) | Ricketts (R) | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 23–Oct 29 | New York Times / Siena | 809 LV | 43 | 49 | R+6 |
| Oct 16–Oct 23 | Echelon Insights | 407 LV | 46 | 47 | R+1 |
| Oct 18–Oct 22 | GBAO Partisan | 800 LV | 46 | 45 | I+1 |
| Oct 14–Oct 20 | Impact Research Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 49 | R+2 |
| Oct 15–Oct 18 | NPA Polling (National Public Affairs) | 598 LV | 43 | 46 | R+3 |
| Oct 15–Oct 18 | Concord Public Opinion Partners Partisan | 500 LV | 48 | 41 | I+7 |
| Oct 2–Oct 5 | NPA Polling (National Public Affairs) | 800 LV | 43 | 46 | R+3 |
| Sep 24–Oct 3 | YouGov | 1,809 LV | 48 | 47 | I+1 |
| Sep 28–Sep 30 | co/efficient | 1,113 LV | 40 | 45 | R+5 |
| Sep 8–Sep 13 | SurveyUSA | 503 LV | 46 | 42 | I+4 |
| Sep 3–Sep 8 | GBAO Partisan | 800 LV | 47 | 46 | I+1 |
| Aug 9–Aug 13 | Impact Research Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 47 | Tie |
| May 8–May 11 | Tavern Research Partisan | 1,165 LV | 47 | 42 | I+5 |
| Feb 2–Feb 5 | Impact Research Partisan | 600 LV | 47 | 48 | R+1 |
Source notebook
Selected sources for this page; every poll has its own source link in the table above. Reviewed 2026-10-31.
Corrections welcome: corrections@electiontracker.live. Independent coverage; no endorsement.
What to watch on November 3
Polls close at 8 p.m. Central / 7 p.m. Mountain (9 p.m. Eastern). In 2024 Osborn carried four counties: Douglas (Omaha), Lancaster (Lincoln), Sarpy and Thurston; his margins there and in rural counties compared with 2024 are the main markers.
Reading a race call: preliminary totals are unofficial. Media projections must name the projecting outlet; certification comes from authorized election officials.