AP calls Nebraska's Senate race for Republican Pete Ricketts over independent Dan Osborn

The Associated Press called Nebraska's Senate race for Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts early Wednesday, ending a night in which independent Dan Osborn led the early count. The AP made the call after an overnight update in which no outlet had yet named a winner.

The AP call alone does not settle the question of whether a Republican wins the seat. It resolves when the AP, Fox News and NBC all call the race for the same candidate. If they do not, official certification decides it. Fox and NBC calls were not independently verified, and remaining returns and certification are still pending.

The count had moved steadily toward Ricketts. At 11:30 p.m. Central on Tuesday, the Nebraska Secretary of State's unofficial tally showed him ahead 236,466 to 226,192 with 307 of 1,322 precincts fully reporting. A later update had him ahead 289,873 to 268,313 with 462 precincts in. By 2:35 a.m. Central Wednesday, the state's results showed Ricketts with 355,758 votes to Osborn's 311,853, with 1,056 of 1,322 precincts fully reporting, according to the Nebraska Secretary of State and PollCheck.

Early returns had favored Osborn. KLKN reported him ahead by 30,357 votes Tuesday night. The AP had warned that many counties were expected to report early and absentee ballots before much of their in-person Election Day vote, which can make early margins misleading.

Ricketts was appointed to the Senate in 2023 and won a 2024 special election by more than 25 points. Osborn, a former union leader running as an independent, lost a separate 2024 Senate race to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by about six points. Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank dropped out in July, and the state Democratic Party endorsed Osborn, who has said he would not caucus with either major party.

The race had drawn attention as competitive. Axios reported on Oct. 30 that polls showed Osborn had a chance, while Cook Political Report rated the contest lean Republican. GrayHouse's final poll, taken Oct. 29 to Nov. 1, put Ricketts ahead 50% to 46% including leaners.

What comes next is the rest of the count, the other outlets' calls and certification. The AP says Nebraska requires an automatic recount when the margin is 1% or less in a race with more than 500 votes. An Osborn victory would not have counted as a Republican win, because he ran by petition rather than as the Republican nominee.