Independent Senate hopeful Dan Osborn cashes in on Democratic donors
Ramsey Touchberry
Washington Examiner
October 21, 2025
Dan Osborn, the independent candidate running a repeat bid for a Nebraska Senate seat, is leaning on Democrats to pad his campaign coffers in a challenge against Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE).
Osborn raised thousands of dollars in recent months from current and former Democratic lawmakers, in addition to hundreds of thousands of dollars through a fundraising platform used by Democratic candidates, according to federal campaign filings.
Osborn received $2,000 from the campaign of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), $2,000 from Rep. Jamie Raskin’s (D-MD) Democracy Summer Leadership PAC, $3,000 from former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey, and $5,000 from former Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s Treasure State PAC. Osborn, a union leader and steamfitter by trade, also raked in more than $350,000 via Democrats’ ActBlue fundraising platform.
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The Senate GOP’s campaign arm also labeled Osborn a “fake independent” and a “hand-picked candidate” of Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader from New York.
“He’s funded, backed by, and in lockstep with the radical left, and Nebraskans will reject him again in 2026,” said Nick Puglia, a regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
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Declining to field a candidate of their own in the ruby red state, Nebraska Democrats are again supporting Osborn in his 2026 campaign[.]
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The donations present the latest window into Osborn’s reliance on financial support from Democrats, a similar pattern that emerged in his 2024 campaign. National Democrats and affiliated groups, including Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and the party’s campaign arm, flooded his campaign with millions of dollars in the race’s final months, as previously reported by the Washington Examiner.
ActBlue altered its rules this year to make it easier for independent candidates like Osborn to reap the digital platform’s financial benefits.
Independent or third-party candidates are now “considered on a case-by-case basis” to bring in contributions via ActBlue, the new company policy states. Three criteria must also be met: Whether a Democrat is in the race, whether the independent has a Democratic Party endorsement, and whether the independent “can demonstrate they align with Democratic policies and priorities.”
Osborn has an active ActBlue page. Two other declared independents, both former Democrats, are also challenging Republican senators in deep red states. Former Idaho Democratic state lawmaker Todd Achilles is running against Sen. Jim Risch (R-ID), and former Democratic Senate candidate Brian Bengs is challenging Sen. Mike Rounds (R-SD).
Read more here.
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