2026 Nebraska Senate Election

About this race

Pete Ricketts has raised the most in this race — $14,546,959, ahead of Dan Osborn at $11,029,845. Pete Ricketts has taken the most PAC and party-committee money: $1,974,381. On AIPAC: Pete Ricketts has taken $445,585 in AIPAC-linked contributions; Dan Osborn has an AIPAC-linked record (amount still under verification).

Pete Ricketts, a Republican, currently holds this Senate seat and is running for re-election. It’s widely expected to stay in Republican hands. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, has taken $445,585 in donations linked to AIPAC, the pro-Israel lobbying group. 3 candidates show no AIPAC-linked donations in available records, including Robin Richards. Dan Osborn, an independent, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, but the exact amount is still being confirmed. The November ballot lists 5 candidates: one Republican and one independent.

Key issues in Nebraska

Major issues facing Nebraska, based on 2025–2026 reporting. Compare them with what each candidate says they focus on below.

• Property tax relief — Property taxes remain the dominant issue as lawmakers debate caps and school funding.
• Ballot measures — November voters face measures on online sports betting, school sports, and legislative term limits.
• Minimum wage fight — The attorney general is suing Omaha and Lincoln over ordinances restoring voter-approved wage rules.
• In-state tuition ended — A federal court ended in-state tuition for undocumented students under a 2006 state law.

Candidates & funding

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Oct 14, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

* AIPAC-linked money is already counted in the rows above — it flags the pro-Israel share, not extra money.

† Independent spending on ads for or against a candidate. It never goes to their campaign.

“Individuals” covers both small-dollar (under $200) and large donors.

Related news

• October 29, 2026

  Two-week-old Nebraska super PAC spends $192,544 boosting a 1% candidate while attacking Dan Osborn

  Sandhills Education Fund registered with the FEC on October 13, 2026, and on October 26 spent $192,544 in Nebraska's Senate race, per its FEC independent-expenditure filing: the same ads support Robin Richards, a minor-party candidate polling around 1%, and oppose Dan Osborn, the main challenger to Sen. Pete Ricketts. Boosting a minor candidate while attacking the leading challenger is the shape of a spoiler-support operation, though the group's intent is not documented. It has filed no report disclosing any donors; as a quarterly filer, its funders would first appear in the post-general report due December 3.

  Source: FEC filings (committee C00963553) →

• October 24, 2026

  Democratic-aligned 'Stronger Nation' spends $550,003 across eight Senate races in the final stretch

  Stronger Nation (C00898999), a Los Angeles-based hybrid PAC registered in March 2025, reported $550,003 in independent expenditures across eight Senate races, all disseminated October 22 via Democratic digital firm Rising Tide Interactive: supporting James Talarico and opposing Ken Paxton in Texas ($216,868), and backing Sherrod Brown in Ohio, Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, Annie Andrews in South Carolina, Josh Turek in Iowa, Adam Hamilton in Kansas, Dan Osborn in Nebraska, and Troy Jackson in Maine. The PAC had reported no contributions at all through October 14, so the money behind the ads is undisclosed until its post-general report, due December 3; its only disclosed funder ever is the Chicago 501(c)(4) Rapid Resist Action ($130,000 in 2025).

  Source: FEC committee filings (C00898999) →

• October 21, 2026

  Retire Career Politicians discloses its donors — and $1.3M in new October attack ads

  The anti-incumbent super PAC's October Monthly report names its September funders: $100,000 from individual Brennan Bilberry plus $1M in committee transfers (Western Futures Fund $350K, Government That Works PAC $250K, Opportunity Action Fund $200K, Fight For Nebraska PAC $81K, Way Back PAC $50K). The same filing cycle shows about $1.32M in new October independent expenditures: $365K opposing Pete Ricketts (NE-Sen), $174K opposing Mike Rounds (SD-Sen), and ~$780K in the NE-1 Flood/Backemeyer fight. An FEC request for more information on two earlier donations remains unanswered.

  Source: FEC (committee filings) →

• October 19, 2026

  Anti-incumbent PAC adds $174K attacking Flood, Ricketts, Rounds; ~$1M of its September money still hidden

  Retire Career Politicians, a Democratic-aligned hybrid PAC run by compliance pro Christopher Koob (MBA Consulting Group; ex-DSCC/DNC), added $173,991 in new independent expenditures opposing Mike Flood (NE-1), Pete Ricketts (NE-Sen), and Mike Rounds (SD-Sen), while backing Democrat Chris Backemeyer (NE-1). Its disclosed funding runs through other PACs — mainly $200K from Way Back PAC — but roughly $1M behind the current ad blitz is undisclosed until the October Monthly report due Oct 20; the PAC's September report also drew an FEC information request on Oct 14.

  Source: FEC →

• October 13, 2026

  Senate Leadership Fund adds another $8 million for Ricketts in Nebraska, bringing its total to $15 million

  The Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend another $8 million through Election Day to help Sen. Pete Ricketts (R), who faces an unexpectedly strong challenge from independent Dan Osborn. That brings SLF's total planned spending in the race to $15 million — $7 million already spent through the previously undisclosed Cornhusker Majority PAC. The move signals how worried Republicans are about holding a once-safe seat with three weeks to go.

  Source: Wall Street Journal →

More Nebraska races

• Nebraska District 1
• Nebraska District 2
• Nebraska District 3