Nearly three years after he was first appointed to the U.S. Senate and nearly one year after he won a special election, U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts formally announced his 2026 campaign for a full six-year term to the Senate on Sunday.
In front of dozens of supporters gathered at a west Omaha realty office, Ricketts, a Republican who previously served two terms as Nebraska governor, touted a conservative record that included billions of dollars worth of tax cuts at the state and federal levels including tax cuts outlined in the One Big Beautiful Bill; support for law enforcement; and increased support for border security that has led to thousands of new agents being hired.
Ricketts also said he voted to increase federal funding to combat the influence of China, Russia and North Korea.
“Conservative leadership acts,” Ricketts told the crowd. “Conservative leadership delivers.”
Ricketts’ campaign said the senator has already been endorsed by President Donald Trump
Ricketts told reporters he will work to reduce federal spending in a full Senate term as well as work to deter China’s global influence. He also said he wants to work on coming up with a federal plan to facilitate the construction of more affordable housing.
“We’ve still got more work to do in regard to getting a regular budget process in place so we can get our spending under control,” he said.
To achieve those priorities in a full Senate term, Ricketts will need to get past a challenge from former labor union leader and registered independent Dan Osborn.
Osborn will go up against Ricketts after he ran against incumbent U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, a Republican in 2024. Osborn finished about 7 percentage points — nearly 63,000 votes — behind Fischer. Osborn’s 2024 finish was one of the closest statewide races in Republican-dominated Nebraska in decades.
Ricketts was first appointed to the U.S. Senate in 2023 by Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen after former U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse resigned to become University of Florida president. Ricketts easily won a special election against Democrat Preston Love Jr. in 2024 to fill the last two years of Sasse’s term.
Ricketts attacked Osborn as a “fake independent” on Sunday. Ricketts sought to tie Osborn to the Democratic Party. Ricketts also said 95% of contributions in support of Osborn’s 2024 Senate candidacy came from outside Nebraska — a claim backed by the campaign watchdog OpenSecrets.
Ricketts also said Osborn voted “against Trump” in the 2024 presidential race. A Ricketts campaign spokesperson pointed to a NBC News story published on July 8 that reported Osborn wrote in United Auto Workers President Shawn Fain for the nation’s highest office.
Speakers at Ricketts’ campaign launch event on Sunday included Pillen and Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine.
Ricketts’ campaign launch event occurred on the same day a large memorial service was held for conservative political activist and Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk in Arizona. Kirk was assassinated in Utah on Sept. 10. Ricketts held a moment of silence and offered a tribute to Kirk on Sunday.
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Dan Crisler
Public safety reporter
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