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Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn rejects political endorsements, riling Democrats [1]

['Andrew Wegley Lincoln Journal Star', 'Andrew Wegley', 'Nikos Frazier', 'Omaha World-Herald', 'Journal Star File Photo', 'Chris Machian', 'The World-Herald']

Date: 2024-12

In a move that has riled Nebraska's Democratic Party and threatened to complicate his own path to the U.S. Senate, independent candidate Dan Osborn announced Wednesday that he would not accept endorsements from any political party or politician as he seeks to unseat Republican Sen. Deb Fischer.

At a news conference in the garage of his Omaha home Wednesday morning, Osborn pledged to decline "the endorsement of every party and politician in America," only accepting the endorsements of "regular Nebraskans."

“I can't be charmed. I can't be schmoozed. I won’t be sucking up to anyone," said Osborn, a former union president who led a 77-day strike at Kellogg’s in 2021 before he was fired from his job last year in what he characterized as retaliation. "And most importantly, I can't be bought."

His announcement, though, blindsided Nebraska's Democratic Party, which was set to vote to endorse Osborn on Saturday, said party chair Jane Kleeb, who accused Osborn's campaign of misleading Democrats for months by indicating in private meetings that Osborn wanted the party's endorsement — and ensuring the Democrats did not put forward their own candidate in the race for the Senate seat held by Fischer, who is seeking her third term.

"They lied to us," Kleeb said in a phone interview Wednesday morning. "And if they lied to us, they're going to lie again, I'm sure."

She said Osborn's campaign informed the party of his announcement about 20 minutes before he held Wednesday morning's press conference making the news public. His campaign cited a poll that indicated the party's endorsement would turn away some would-be Osborn voters, Kleeb said.

In response, Kleeb said the party will put forward a write-in candidate to represent Democrats — a move that would likely deal a blow to Osborn's bid to be the first non-Republican elected to the U.S. Senate in Nebraska since 2006.

"The reason we kept our party line open was to endorse Dan and create a coalition of independents, Republicans and Democrats to unseat Fischer," Kleeb said. "And if Dan would have told us from the beginning, 'I'm an independent. I don't want other parties' endorsements or other parties' help in defeating Fischer,' we would have put somebody in the race."

Through a spokesman, Osborn said Kleeb's remarks represented "the kind of behavior (that) is frankly the exact reason I decided not to take political endorsements."

"I'm a true independent who will never bow to the wishes of any political party," Osborn said, adding: "Americans are sick of political elites putting party over principle and so am I.”

Kleeb, though, rejected Osborn's attempt to "turn this on (her)" after, she said, Osborn had utilized the Democratic Party's infrastructure to campaign for Senate while misleading the party's leaders about his intent.

The chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party since 2016, Kleeb said "this has never happened to (her) in politics before," blasting Osborn as "deceitful."

Facing questions over what a Democratic write-in campaign might mean for the race to unseat Fischer — the favorite in the race whose campaign would likely be boosted if a write-in campaign split the progressive vote — Kleeb maintained that "that's a decision (Osborn) made."

"That's not on my conscience," she said. "He could call us up today and say, 'You're right, I gave you my word. And my word means a lot to me, so I want the party's endorsement and I want the assistance of Democrats and I'm gonna go after independents and Republicans as well.'"

"It's not my job to build the independent party," Kleeb added. "It's my job to build the Democratic Party."

Osborn's announcement — and Kleeb's response — came one day after Tuesday's primary election in Nebraska seemed to clear the field for an Osborn versus Fischer matchup in November's general election, as Fischer sailed to a primary victory over a little-known challenger with nearly 80% of the vote.

Though Osborn, who had to gather signatures to crack November's ballot, did not appear on a primary ballot, his campaign scored a proxy victory in the race for Nebraska's Legal Marijuana NOW Party's U.S. Senate primary.

In that race, Kerry Eddy, a Lincoln woman and Nebraska Air National Guard veteran who joined the marijuana party and sought its Senate nomination to boost Osborn's odds at unseating Fischer, prevailed over Kenneth Peterson, a marijuana party devotee who Eddy had blasted as an unserious "weed bro."

On her campaign website and in political mailers, Eddy had outlined her plan to win the party's primary before dropping out of the race ahead of November's general election and pushing would-be Eddy voters to support Osborn — a plot that angered marijuana party loyalists who called the effort dishonest "shenanigans."

Legal Marijuana NOW party voters resoundingly backed Eddy's run, supporting her bid in a 2-to-1 margin over Peterson and handing a de facto victory to Osborn. Eddy hasn't yet decided whether she will drop out of the race, she said Tuesday, a decision she has until August to make.

If Eddy does reject the party's nomination, state law would allow the Legal Marijuana NOW Party to choose a replacement nominee via a mass convention or through the party's executive committee.

The marijuana party's chairman, Mark Elworth Jr., has pledged to seek the Senate seat himself if Eddy drops out, creating the spoiler scenario that Eddy sought to avoid — one that may now be inevitable anyway if the Democrats undertake a write-in campaign.

The newfound uncertainty surrounding the race could pose a threat to the everyman campaign of Osborn, a steamfitter and U.S. Navy veteran who led Fischer by 2 points in a November poll conducted by a liberal research firm, though local political observers have questioned some of the poll’s methods and findings.

His campaign raised more than $450,000 in the first quarter of 2024 and has raised more than $1 million since he launched his run last year, according to his campaign, which called Osborn's run "the strongest independent campaign in Nebraska in 80 years."

Fischer, meanwhile, has millions in her campaign war chest and garnered the most votes of any candidate in Nebraska's primary election Tuesday, outpacing Sen. Pete Ricketts by about 1,500 votes and surpassing former President Donald Trump by around 6,000 votes. Both men won their primary contests in landslides, but by smaller margins than Fischer won hers.

Fischer last won reelection to the Senate in 2018 with 57% of the vote.

Nebraska hasn't sent a non-Republican to the Senate since 2006, when Sen. Ben Nelson, a Democrat, won a second term. He opted not to seek a third term in 2012 and was replaced in the body by Fischer, a rancher and former state lawmaker who initially vowed to only serve two terms in the Senate.

Photos: Nebraska Primary Election Day 2024

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[1] Url: https://starherald.com/news/state-regional/government-politics/article_a9b575a1-d2b8-50b7-893c-0de1ed014ebc.html

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