Dan Osborn

Daniel L. Osborn (born March 29, 1975) is a U.S. Navy veteran, industrial mechanic, former labor union leader, and independent politician from Nebraska.

Osborn served in the Nebraska Army National Guard before working at Kellogg's Omaha plant. He eventually became president of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 50G and led the strike at Kellogg's Omaha plant in 2021.

Osborn ran in the regular 2024 United States Senate election in Nebraska. He drew attention for his unorthodox, populist platform and his unusually high-level support as a moderate independent candidate in what is usually a strongly Republican state. Some polls showed him in a dead heat with incumbent Deb Fischer, but she won by 7 points. Osborn's performance was the best ever for an independent candidate in a Nebraska US Senate race. Split Ticket, a data-driven political analysis and forecasting site, wrote that his performance was the strongest relative to the partisan nature of Senate elections.

In 2024, Osborn established the Working Class Heroes Fund, a political action committee (PAC) supporting working-class candidates. In 2025, he formed an exploratory committee for a possible run in the 2026 United States Senate election in Nebraska. On July 8, 2025, Osborn announced that he would enter the race as an independent, challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts. Early life Dan Osborn was born on March 29, 1975. His mother was a seamstress, and his father, Gary, worked for Union Pacific Railroad, loading cargo; after retiring, he also served as a Republican Dodge County Commissioner.

When Osborn was seven, his family moved to Omaha after his father was transferred with Union Pacific.

Military career After high school, Osborn enlisted in the United States Navy. He served four years as a storekeeper aboard the aircraft carrier , completing two Western Pacific cruises and two Exercise RIMPAC cruises. He eventually became president of Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers International Union Local 50G. He rose to national prominence when he led the 2021 Kellogg's strike at the plant. The strike, which was prompted by a two-tier system of pay, and included other plants across the country, lasted 77 days. Kellogg's later fired Osborn. He turned to boiler maintenance and repair work at Boys Town and became a member of Steamfitters and Plumbers Local 464.

U.S. Senate campaigns

2024

Both Senate seats in Nebraska were up for reelection in 2024, one in a special election and the other in a regular election. Osborn ran as an independent in the regular election against Deb Fischer, who had no Democratic challenger. Osborn said he could represent working- and middle-class constituencies better than wealthy, establishment politicians.

Osborn officially announced his candidacy as an independent candidate on October 5, 2023. In August he submitted more than 12,000, guaranteeing his place on the ballot.

Osborn has been registered as nonpartisan since registering to vote in 2004. Although Democrats chose not to run a candidate in the Senate election, Osborn declined their endorsement. The state Democratic Party considered running a write-in candidate, accusing Osborn of misleading them about his intentions, but Osborn said he had always been clear that he would not accept endorsements from any political party. Osborn wanted to form an independent caucus in the Senate rather than caucus with either party. He called the current system a "two-party doom loop". The Reform Party of the United States endorsed him in September 2024. Senate Democrats did not engage with or help Osborn's campaign.

Osborn raised more campaign funds, mostly small-dollar donations, than any independent candidate in Nebraska's history. The last independent to win a Senate seat in Nebraska was progressive George Norris in 1936.

Asked about his prospects in the race by The New York Times, Osborn said: "I've gone up against a major American corporation. I stood up for what I thought was right, and I won." was unusually competitive for Nebraska, and potentially important in determining partisan control of the Senate. In an August 2024 SurveyUSA poll sponsored by Split Ticket, Fischer held a narrow lead of 39% to 38% over Osborn, within the margin of error, while 23% of voters were undecided. The poll led the Nebraska Examiner to call the election a tight race. The Cook Political Reports Senate and governor's editor said: "This is probably the most surprising race of the cycle. [Osborn] is such a different type of politician. He's a blue-collar worker—a mechanic. I think Fischer is a lower-profile senator who isn't as well known." Various polls showed both of them leading and the race extremely tight. An October 28 New York Times/Siena College poll showed Osborn two points behind Fischer, well within the margin of error. Fischer won the election, 53% to 47%.

Politico reported that the Democrats, after their losses in the 2024 elections, were studying Osborn's unusually competitive campaign, especially in a deep red state, as they rebuild their party and its image.

2026

On July 8, 2025, Osborn announced he would run as an independent in the 2026 United States Senate election for the Class II seat held by Republican Pete Ricketts. According to his team, Osborn raised about $2 million in 2025 for his campaign. The Nebraska Democratic Party (NDP), acknowledging that an NDP nominee would have little chance in the general election, chose to clear the field for Osborn. On June 11, 2026, Osborn submitted around 12,500 signatures to Nebraska's Secretary of State, allowing him to appear on the general election ballot as an independent.

The national Democratic Party is not supporting Osborn's candidacy, but the Nebraska Democratic Party has endorsed it. In March 2026, the Reform Party USA endorsed Osborn. Osborn is unaffiliated with the Nebraska Democratic Party, but the party views his candidacy as an opportunity to develop coalitions, disrupt the status quo, and promote a candidate more aligned with its platform.

A New York Times article suggested that Osborn may fare better among Hispanics in the state who are disappointed in the immigration policy of the second Trump administration and its effects on the Latino community. Osborn's attempt to unseat Ricketts has been called a "rugged guy" campaign, drawing comparisons to Graham Platner's Senate campaign in Maine.

Political platform Osborn's campaign platform has been described as populist,

Osborn's policy positions included raising the national minimum wage; lowering the tax rate for small businesses and overtime work; increasing border security and building the Mexico–United States border wall to stop illegal immigration; reforming the immigration system and exploring ways to legalize non-criminal long-term undocumented workers; ensuring resources for law enforcement and first responders; legalizing and taxing marijuana; improving railroad safety; facilitating union organizing; and protecting gun rights. Osborn supported a "libertarian approach" to hot-button issues like abortion rights and said that government should be kept out of citizens' private lives. He supports the right-to-repair of consumer goods such as cars and electronics, raising the cap on Social Security contributions for those with higher incomes and moving the full retirement age for Social Security benefits back to 65.

Osborn has said he is personally pro-life but supports guaranteeing access to abortion within the limits set by Roe v. Wade and opposes a national abortion ban. He has said: "Since Roe v. Wade has been overturned, abortions are on the rise and women are dying." He said he supports "a woman being able to choose for her own body" but opposes late-term abortions, calling them "disgusting" and saying, "I don't know anybody who agrees with that." Osborn supports "defensive purpose only funding" to Israel. He has criticized the 2026 US–Israeli war on Iran, and questioned its rationale,

After launching his 2026 campaign, Osborn said he would "welcome donations from anyone, whether you're a Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, America Party", and said his primary goal if elected is to get big money out of American politics. Of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and voters, he said: "They were sold a bill of goods that if you work hard in this country, your government is going to be there to have a level playing field for you to get ahead. But now we're seeing tax cuts for the billionaires at the expense of workers, people that are struggling to get by." He is Catholic.

Electoral history

2024

2026

Osborn is running for the U.S. Senate in Nebraska as an independent candidate against incumbent Senator Pete Ricketts.