Sen. Pete Ricketts wins Nebraska primary, faces Dan Osborn in fall

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts moved one step closer to a six-year term in the Senate after winning renomination in the red-leaning Nebraska primary.

Ricketts, who was appointed to replace Ben Sasse in 2023 and won a 2024 special election to fill the final two years of Sasse’s term, bested four Republican primary rivals on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.

Ricketts now heads to this fall’s midterm elections, where he will face independent candidate Dan Osborn, an industrial fixer and military veteran who spooked Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in her 2024 re-election, in a Senate race expected to be competitive.

It comes less than six months before Tuesday’s primary election midterm electionsIt’s a time when Republicans aim to preserve their razor-thin House and slim Senate majorities and Democrats hope to ride a blue wave to escape the political wilderness.

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“Thank you, Nebraska! I’m honored to be your Republican nominee,” Ricketts said in a social media post following his primary victory.

But looking ahead to the general election showdown, he added: “Our work is not done yet.”

In his fundraising speech, Ricketts said, “Out-of-state liberal donors will pour millions into Nebraska this fall. Contribute now and send them a message: Nebraska elections will not be bought by liberals in California.”

Although the Nebraska Democratic Party supported Osborn in the general election, community college educator Cindy Burbank and pastor Bill Forbes faced off in the primary for the Democratic nomination.

According to the Associated Press, Burbank defeated Forbes in the primaries and secured the Democratic nomination.

Both candidates were last-minute candidates, and some Nebraska Democrats claimed that Forbes entered the race to get a Democrat on the fall ballot and divert votes away from Osborn to help Ricketts.

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Nebraska state capitol building in Lincoln, Nebraska (Getty Images)

Forbes denied the allegations.

Burbank says he entered the race to keep Forbes off the ballot in November.

Ricketts is the eldest son of TD Ameritrade founder Joe Ricketts and, along with other family members, is a partial owner of Major League Baseball’s Chicago Cubs.

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Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts is running for a six-year term in the U.S. Senate this year. (Celal Güneş/Anadolu Agency, via Getty Images)

Ricketts won election in 2014 and was re-elected as governor of Nebraska in 2018. A week after completing his second term, he was appointed to the U.S. Senate by his successor as governor, Republican Jim Pillen.

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Leading nonpartisan political obstructionists rate the Senate general election matchup in Nebraska as Republican.

The GOP currently controls the Senate with a 53-47 majority.