Pete Ricketts wins Nebraska Senate election, CBS News projects

Washington — GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts won reelection in the Nebraska Senate race, CBS News projects, fending off a challenge from independent Dan Osborn. 

Ricketts, 62, is a former Nebraska governor who was appointed to the Senate in 2023. He faced off against Osborn, a former union leader who was making his second Senate bid. 

Osborn, 51, lost in 2024 to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by seven points. And with Democrats again clearing the way for him this cycle, he made a play to oust Ricketts in the conservative state. 

Nebraskans haven't elected a candidate who wasn't a Republican since 2006. But with a large share of nonpartisan voters and an unfavorable environment for the GOP amid the unpopular war with Iran and high gas and diesel prices, the race proved to be
 competitive. 

Though Osborn has said he wouldn't have caucused with Democrats, Ricketts' projected victory wards off an outcome that could have subtracted further from their majority. And after a series of Democratic victories in states that the president won handily in 2024, retaining the seat in Nebraska comes as a relief to the GOP.