Nebraska voters don’t seem to be buying Senate candidate Dan Osborn’s claims of independence from the Democratic Party, a new poll shows.
A New York Times/Siena Poll published Saturday found that 55% of voters think Mr. Osborn, an independent candidate, is “more similar to Democrats.”
A mere 33% consider Mr. Osborn “really more of an independent.”
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Mr. Osborn is challenging Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts on Tuesday.
Democrats are not running a candidate because their nominee, Cindy Burbank, dropped out to help Mr. Osborn’s chances.
Mr. Osborn ran for Senate in 2024 and lost to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by less than 7 percentage points — a surprisingly strong performance in a good year for Republicans.
He has said he will not caucus with either party, but he fundraises through ActBlue — the Democrats’ favored platform.
Additionally, leaked audio in which Mr. Osborn says Nebraska supporters of President Trump back him because “their lives probably suck” and they want to be on the “winning team” has shaken up the race.
He has apologized for the statements.
In its late-cycle polling, The New York Times gives Mr. Ricketts a 6-point lead, with 49% of likely voters favoring him and 43% favoring Mr. Osborn.
The poll has a margin of error of 4.2 percentage points.
The Cook Political Report rates Nebraska’s Senate race “lean Republican.”
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