The Latest from the Prospect

NORFOLK, NEBRASKA – What should have been a sleepy Nebraska Senate race could now upend national politics. Two-term incumbent Deb Fischer has been caught flat-footed by populist independent and former union leader Dan Osborn, who is giving her the fight of her life in a state Donald Trump carried by nearly 20 points in 2020.

More than just control of the Senate—which professional handicappers rate as strongly tilting toward Republicans—is at stake. If he wins, Osborn’s unapologetic anti-corporate message would throw a wrench into the business-friendly approach of both parties. Republican incumbents in safe seats could be threatened by a formidable new type of opponent. It also risks embarrassing national Democrats if a firebrand steamfitter from Omaha is able to accomplish in the heartland what many middle-of-the-road Democratic standard-bearers could not.

As Osborn put it at a recent meet-and-greet in Ashland, "Imagine the ramifications on American politics if Nebraska sends an independent mechanic to the halls of power … Nurses, teachers, plumbers, bus drivers—they can all know they can do the same thing."