(release from Osborn for Senate campaign)
OMAHA, NE — An independent poll released January 22nd shows the race for Nebraska’s U.S. Senate seat in a statistical tie with incumbent Pete Ricketts’ favorability numbers underwater by nine points.
The poll, conducted by Lake Research Partners December 11-17, shows Dan Osborn at 47% support among voters polled, with Ricketts at 48%. It is the third poll released in recent months showing the race is neck-and-neck.
These strong numbers for Osborn come after Ricketts has already spent over $2 million on attack ads while Osborn has spent next to nothing. Ricketts has not seen any significant negative spending against him in over a decade.
Osborn sits at 46-39 favorability (+7), compared to Ricketts’ 43-52 favorability (-9). This indicates Ricketts has hit a ceiling with voters while Osborn has significant room to expand his coalition.
The Osborn campaign did not commission the poll.
“Poll after poll shows this race is a dead heat,” said Osborn campaign manager John Dolan. “What this latest poll shows is that Pete Ricketts is much more unpopular than Deb Fischer was in 2024, even after serving 8 years as governor and the last 3 years in the Senate.
“Dan Osborn is running a much stronger campaign, much earlier than he did last go around,” continued Dolan. “Pete’s unpopularity being where it is even before our campaign spends a dollar criticizing him is a damning indictment of his time in office.”
