Nebraska U.S. Senate candidates Dan Osborn and Pete Ricketts traded attacks Thursday over second-quarter fundraising, with Osborn criticizing Ricketts for pouring in $5.25 million of his own money and Ricketts accusing Osborn of relying on out-of-state Democrats.
The Federal Election Commission this week published candidates' second-quarter financial statements. FEC documents show that from April 1 to June 30, Ricketts raised $6.4 million, including the $5.25 million he provided himself.
Excluding the self-funded portion, Ricketts raised $1.12 million for the quarter, including $470,777 from new direct individual contributions.
To date, Ricketts has raised $11.4 million for the 2026 race and has roughly $7 million on hand at the end of the quarter.
Osborn raised almost $1.9 million in the second quarter.
To date, Osborn has raised $5.7 million for the 2026 race and listed $2.4 million in campaign cash on hand at the end of the quarter.
Osborn, an industrial mechanic and former Omaha labor leader, held a press conference Thursday in Omaha to call attention to Ricketts' self-funding — and to argue that without the self-funding, Osborn out-raised Ricketts last quarter.
To mock Ricketts' donation to his own campaign, Osborn wrote a check to his own campaign for $5.25 and encouraged individuals to do the same.
“I believe the voices of the thousands of people across the state who have donated $5, $10 or $25 showed up at our town halls, or put a yard sign in their yard, are louder than any check that Pete Ricketts can write,” Osborn said.
Max Oberg, Ricketts' deputy campaign manager, said in a statement Thursday that Ricketts "is investing in his own campaign because he answers to Nebraskans."
“Dan Osborn is relying on alleged Epstein associates and coastal Democrat billionaire donors to continue funding the half-million-dollar family grift he calls a campaign,” Oberg added.
During the press conference, Osborn also announced that he had been notified by the Nebraska Secretary of State’s office that his campaign had gathered enough valid signatures from voters to make the November ballot.
World-Herald Managing Editor Aaron Sanderford contributed to this report.
