Why Republicans Are Suddenly Scrambling To Save A Senate Seat – In Nebraska, Of All Places

Senate Republicans are unexpectedly spending hundreds of thousands of dollars in one of the nation’s most conservative states, trying to fend off a spirited challenge from an independent populist who could be laying out a new pathway to oust Republican senators — or at least force the GOP to spend a whole lot of cash.

The candidate causing the GOP consternation is Dan Osborn, a union industrial mechanic who led a strikeat the Kellogg’s cereal plant in Omaha in 2021. His combination of populist economic views with a dash of social conservatism has him running strong against two-term GOP Sen. Deb Fischer, with several internal pollsshowing him within striking distance. Those polls were pretty easy to dismiss until Republicans decided Fischer ― a low-key, rank-and-file conservative ― needed the national cavalry.

“Dan Osborn is a phenomenal candidate who could produce one of the biggest political upsets in years,” said Andrew Yang, a former Democratic presidential candidate who has since grown frustrated with the two-party system and has founded the centrist Forward Party. “He appeals to Nebraskans of every background and the more voters see him the more excited they get.”

“A compelling independent candidate like Dan Osborn can enable competition in places that would otherwise go uncontested – more and more Americans are identifying as Independent or unaffiliated,” Yang added in a message to HuffPost.

An Osborn victory would throw a wrench into the GOP’s plans to control the Senate come 2025. Republicans feel confident about picking up seats in West Virginia and Montana, but an Osborn victory would leave them with just 50 seats — potentially not enough to control the upper chamber if Vice President Kamala Harris wins the