Unusual Nebraska Democratic Senate Primary Results

In a surprising twist, the top two candidates in Nebraska’s Democratic Senate primary accused each other of political stratagems. Pharmacy technician Cindy Burbank emerged victorious, defeating Rev. William Forbes with a significant lead, garnering 90% of the votes to his 9%. However, Forbes has announced he won’t be running against incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Nebraska) in the general election and intends to withdraw by November to allow independent candidate Dan Osborne to take the stage.

Osborne has received the endorsement of the Nebraska Democratic Party, which believes he stands the best chance to challenge Ricketts in the upcoming election.

“The moral of the story: Vote for Cindy Burbank in today’s primary, not fake Democrat William ‘Bill’ Forbes!” the Nebraska Democratic Party urged. “This is how we break down one-party rule in Nebraska, and it starts by voting for Cindy!”

On her minimalist campaign website, Burbank accused Ricketts of strategically placing a loyal candidate in the Democratic primary to split the vote in his favor, thereby making it easier for him to win.

“He runs an anti-abortion activist named Bill Forbes who openly supports Pete Ricketts!” Burbank claimed. “He knows he’s losing to Dan Osborne, and this is his plan to cheat his way to victory. We can’t allow that to happen.” She expressed confidence, saying, “Support me and I’ll ensure Ricketts’ minions don’t get near our November vote!”

Meanwhile, Forbes has responded to these accusations. He pointed out Burbank’s prior support for President Trump and her attendance at a training session run by the Conservative Leadership Institute. Despite this, he denied being an undercover agent and labeled Burbank as a “fake Democrat.”

“I have been a lifelong Democrat, but not when it was convenient,” Forbes insisted in a statement on his campaign site. He continued, “Dan Osborne is not a Democrat at all. Instead of allowing this infiltrator to hijack the primary, true Nebraska Democrats should unite behind candidates who align with our values.”

Forbes criticized Burbank, calling her a “self-proclaimed stand-in” and accused her of being a tool to disrupt the Democratic primary for a more significant agenda.

“If she was truly a Democrat, she wouldn’t interfere in our party’s campaigns to help billionaires rig the results,” he said regarding Burbank. “This fake Democrat should drop out immediately and stop undermining the true Democrats who want to win.”

Polling results released by a Democratic-leaning firm indicated that Osborne topped the charts, although both Burbank and Forbes appeared to lag behind in a potential general election race against Ricketts.

A poll from Tavern Research reflected that Ricketts had a 16-point advantage over Forbes and was 9 points behind Burbank. However, he was trailing by a narrow margin against Osborne, with the figures at 47% to 42%.

“What they’re trying to do is deceive the voters of Nebraska,” Ricketts stated during an interview, discussing the dynamics of the Democratic primary. He further remarked on the struggles of the Democratic brand in the Midwest, suggesting that winning the state wouldn’t be feasible for a Democrat.

“It doesn’t take a lot of brainpower to think, ‘Does the Democratic Party support it?’” Ricketts said, implying that Democratic primary winners would likely endorse Osborne, painting him as a legitimate Democrat.