PoliVion · Midterms 2026← Back to all races

2026 Nebraska Senate Election

Likely R
Pete Ricketts (R) incumbent

About this race

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. Dan Osborn, an independent, shows a record of donations linked to AIPAC, but the exact amount is still being confirmed.

Key issues in Nebraska

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

Candidates & funding

Pete Ricketts Republican Nominee

Campaign raised $5,800,000
AIPAC / pro-IsraelSmall-dollar / grassroots ~$3.2M
AIPAC-linked $445,585FundVoter-reported, career 2024–2026 — methodology replication pending
AIPAC PAC and AIPAC-routed contributions, 2026 cycle. Source: FEC filings via FundVoter.
Routed contributions $2Kindividual donors via conduits
A PAC can give at most $10K per cycle directly to a candidate. But when individuals route donations through a PAC acting as conduit, there’s no cap on how many donors can be bundled. That’s where the real money moves — not from the PAC’s treasury, but from individuals the PAC steered to the candidate. How conduits work →
2026 fundraising (FEC)$11,233,507 raised · $4,809,506 spent · $6,910,970 cash on hand through Jun 30, 2026
Focus: Cut taxes, streamlined government, defended Nebraska values; secured border, fought out-of-control spending

Dan Osborn Independent Nominee

AIPAC-linkedamount under verification
FundVoter lists an AIPAC-linked FEC record for this candidate; the dollar amount is still under verification.
2026 fundraising (FEC)$5,751,951 raised · $3,393,630 spent · $2,421,487 cash on hand through Sep 30, 2026
Focus: Protect small businesses, family farms and ranches, middle-class jobs; common-sense independence

Where the money comes from

FEC campaign finance data through Sep 30, 2026. Campaign dollars, by source.

Pete Ricketts RDan Osborn I
Raised$11.2M$5.8M
Individuals$2.2M20%$5.5M96%
PACs & parties$1.7M15%$140K2%
Self-funded$5.3M47%$0
Other$2M18%$70K1%
AIPAC-linked*$446K—
Outside spending†——

* 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.

Who are the biggest donors?

Every donor ranked by how much they gave, from the candidate’s own FEC filings — individuals, PACs, and party committees all in one list. Expand a candidate to see theirs, then tap any name to learn more about the donor.

Why are so many gifts exactly $10,000? That’s the legal maximum a PAC can give one candidate for the whole cycle — $5,000 for the primary plus $5,000 for the general — so many PACs give the max. Individuals can give up to $3,500 per election.

Pete Ricketts 1128 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$11.2M
Campaign spent$4.8M
Cash on hand$6.9M
FEC 2026 through 06/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals20%
PACs / committees15%
Self-funding47%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
ROUTED CONTRIBUTIONS
Total routed through conduits$2K
Share of individual giving0.1%
Individuals gave through these conduits. Conduit is routing layer, not legal donor. General platforms (ActBlue, WinRed) are payment processors, not networks. How conduits work →
  • Self-funded$5.3M
  • Party committee$62K
  • Individual$21K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Trade association PAC$10K
  • Membership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Corporate PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K

Showing the 50 biggest of 1128 donors. The other 1078 gave $2.8M combined.

Plus $216K from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Pete Ricketts’s full FEC filings →

Dan Osborn 3841 donors
FINANCIAL POSITION
Campaign raised$5.8M
Campaign spent$3.4M
Cash on hand$2.4M
FEC 2026 through 09/30/2026
CANDIDATE-CONTROLLED MONEY
Individuals96%
PACs / committees2%
Self-funding0%
Share of campaign receipts. FEC 2026.
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$14K
  • Individual$10K
  • Individual$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Leadership PAC$10K
  • Labor PAC$10K
  • Individual$9K
  • Individual$9K
  • Labor PAC$8K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K
  • Individual$7K

Showing the 50 biggest of 3841 donors. The other 3791 gave $3.1M combined.

Plus $2.2M from small donors giving under $200 each — those aren’t itemized by name.

See Dan Osborn’s full FEC filings →

These figures come from the candidate’s own itemized FEC reports (2026 cycle, through the coverage date above), with amendments applied and refunds netted. Joint fundraising transfers are left out of the ranking: they’re pass-throughs, and the individual donations behind them are listed above. Bank interest, vendor refunds, and other non-donation receipts are excluded. Donor names are as reported — the same person can appear twice if their name was recorded differently. Independent spending on ads is never included here — see the Outside spending column.

More Nebraska races

← Montana District 2Nebraska District 1 →
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