Nebraska Democrat seeks Senate ballot exit, boosting Osborn’s shot
Cindy Burbank has asked to leave Nebraska’s Senate ballot, a step that could pit Dan Osborn directly against Sen. Pete Ricketts.
By Frankie Delgado · News Reporter
3 min read
Nebraska’s Senate race could be heading for a clean two-person fight after Democratic nominee Cindy Burbank asked election officials to take her off the ballot.
Rani Taborek-Potter, a spokesperson for Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office, told NBC News that the office received Burbank’s letter seeking removal. Taborek-Potter said the secretary of state plans to ask the state attorney general whether Burbank’s request should be granted.
If the request is accepted and Democrats do not name a replacement, Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts would face independent Dan Osborn without a Democrat on the ballot. The Nebraska Examiner first reported Burbank’s filing.
Burbank announced the move in a video sent by text message, saying her Senate run had been a privilege and that she had reviewed the race’s numbers.
“I won’t be your next senator. So I have withdrawn my bid for US Senate,” Burbank said in the video, according to NBC News.
She did not use the message to endorse Osborn. Instead, Burbank told her supporters to learn about the candidates still in the contest before making a choice.
A race Democrats have struggled to win
Burbank had previously signaled that she might step aside if she concluded she could not win in November. Her campaign website said Osborn “deserves a fair shot against Ricketts,” according to NBC News.
Before Burbank won the Democratic nomination in May, she told NBC News that she would leave the race if it became clear she had no route to victory, saying anyone “with any dignity” should do the same.
At the same time, Burbank had rejected the idea that her campaign existed only to create a head-to-head race between Ricketts and Osborn. Her request could still produce that outcome, depending on state officials and the Nebraska Democratic Party’s next move.
NBC News reported that the state Democratic Party did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether it would try to fill the vacancy if Burbank’s declination is accepted.
Nebraska Democrats have been locked out of the U.S. Senate winner’s circle for years. According to NBC News, the party has not won a Senate seat in the state since 2006.
Osborn has run statewide before. In 2024, he lost to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer by nearly 7 points, NBC News reported. That same year, then-Vice President Kamala Harris lost Nebraska by more than 20 points in the presidential race.
Party signals and GOP pushback
Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, wrote on X last year that the party was backing Osborn. Kleeb said a coalition of Democrats, independents and Republicans could defeat Ricketts and end what she called one-party rule.
Republicans quickly framed Burbank’s move as a boost for a candidate they want voters to see as aligned with Democrats. Nick Puglia, a regional press secretary for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, referred to Osborn in a statement as “Democrat Dan Osborn.”
“Nebraskans will reject Osborn again,” Puglia said, according to NBC News.
The next step sits with state officials. Evnen’s office has Burbank’s request, and the attorney general’s guidance could determine whether Nebraska voters see a narrowed Senate race in November.
This story draws on original reporting from NBC News.