Senator Deb Fischer, Republican of Nebraska, has won a third term, according to The Associated Press, staving off a spirited and unexpectedly tough challenge from independent Dan Osborn, an industrial mechanic and political newcomer, and giving her party enough seats to take the majority.
Ms. Fischer a former school board member and state lawmaker whose family owns a cattle ranch, won both of her previous Senate races by double-digit margins and has kept a relatively low profile since taking office.
She and national Republicans were slow to take Mr. Osborn’s campaign seriously, but as he pushed his appeal beyond the Democratic strongholds of Omaha and Lincoln, the senator and her allies opened the money spigot with an advertising blitz that accused him of being a “Democrat in disguise.”
Ms. Fischer’s victory in heavily Republican Nebraska was all but guaranteed, judging by the polls, pundits and news media, until Mr. Osborn made inroads after Labor Day and forced Republicans to pour millions of dollars into the race to stay competitive. As the polls tightened, Democrats privately hoped that Mr. Osborn would pull off an upset, which could have scrambled the G.O.P.’s otherwise promising path to winning the Senate majority.
In the end, however, a campaign built on the ideals of organized labor failed to turn the rising popularity of unions into political victory.
Ms. Fischer, during her 12 years in the Senate, drew the ire of the railroad unions in western and central Nebraska, which said she ignored their letters calling for improved safety regulations and instead backed bills that were favorable to the rail industry. Last year the unions voted to launch a “defeat Deb Fischer” campaign and recruited Mr. Osborn, citing his background as a lifelong registered independent and his humble demeanor that felt approachable.
Mr. Osborn, ran on a populist platform that relied heavily on his background as a working man and Navy veteran to appeal to everyday people fed up with Washington elites and partisan politics. He shunned ties to either major party and refused to say which he would align with in Washington, D.C. if he were to win.
In his closing argument, Mr. Osborn pitched himself as the candidate of change and said he was more closely aligned with former President Donald J. Trump than Ms. Fischer was. Still, in a state dominated by Republicans, Mr. Osborn’s message did not resonate with enough voters to overcome the deluge of spending from Ms. Fischer and her party allies.
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