| Election Name: | 2024 United States Senate election in Nebraska |
| Country: | Nebraska |
| Type: | presidential |
| Ongoing: | yes |
| Previous Election: | 2018 United States Senate election in Nebraska |
| Previous Year: | 2018 |
| Next Election: | 2030 United States Senate election in Nebraska |
| Next Year: | 2030 |
| Election Date: | November 5, 2024 |
| Image1: | Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE), official portrait, 118th United States Congress (cropped).jpg |
| Nominee1: | Deb Fischer |
| Party1: | Republican Party (United States) |
| Nominee2: | Dan Osborn |
| Party2: | Independent (United States) |
| U.S. senator | |
| Before Election: | Deb Fischer |
| Before Party: | Republican Party (United States) |
The 2024 United States Senate election in Nebraska will be held on November 5, 2024, to elect a member of the United States Senate to represent the state of Nebraska.[1] Since there will also be a special election for Nebraska’s other Senate seat, this marks the first time since 1954 where both of Nebraska's U.S. Senate seats were concurrently up for election. Primary elections took place on May 14, 2024.[2]
Incumbent Republican Senator Deb Fischer was first elected in 2012 to fill the seat of retiring Democrat Ben Nelson and was re-elected in 2018. Fischer will seek a third term, despite having previously pledged to retire.[3]
Dan Osborn, an industrial mechanic and union leader who led the strike at Kellogg's Omaha plant in 2021, is running as an independent. No Democrats filed to run for the seat, which created speculation that Democrats may support Osborn in the general election.[4] However, due to Osborn's rejection of all party support, state party chair Jane Kleeb stated that they would look for a write-in candidate.[5]
Due to Dan Osborn's independent candidacy, the Nebraska Democratic Party had originally not intended to field a candidate, planning to endorse Osborn on May 18. However, on May 15, Osborn stated that he would not accept the help of any political party.[5] This led to a condemnation by state party chair Jane Kleeb, who said that Osborn had previously promised to work with them in exchange for them not running a candidate. Due to Osborn's announcement taking place the day after the state's primary, Kleeb announced that they would be looking for a write-in candidate to run under the party banner in November.[8]
The Legal Marijuana NOW primary attracted controversy, with one candidate, Kerry Eddy, admitting that she entered the race with the intention of winning the nomination and then dropping out. Eddy, who was a registered Democrat until March 2024, supports independent candidate Dan Osborn, and feared that the Legal Marijuana NOW Party's nominee could pull votes away from Osborn, who supports legalizing marijuana. Party chair Mark Elworth Jr. denounced Eddy's plan as "shenangians." The party instead supported Ken Peterson, who had been recruited to run by Elworth. Peterson alleged that supporters of Osborn had repeatedly urged him to drop out of the race. Osborn's campaign denied having any involvement in the Legal Marijuana NOW primary, though a pro-Osborn super PAC spent over $30,000 supporting Eddy's campaign.[10]
After Kerry Eddy won the May primary by a wide margin, she said she was re-evaluating whether or not to drop out of the race. Complicating Eddy's plan is that if she rejected the Legal Marijuana NOW Party's nomination, the party could simply name a replacement nominee. Mark Elworth Jr. has pledged to seek the party's nomination for Senate if Eddy drops out.[12] It was also suggested that Elworth could use his ballot line to nominate a Democrat.[5]
Eddy dropped out of the race on July 30 and endorsed Osborn. The party has until September 3 to name a replacement nominee.[11]
In March 2024, independent candidate Dan Osborn sought the support of the Nebraska Libertarian Party. However, he decided against this, instead running as an independent without any party's support.[5]
| Source | Ranking | As of | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| align=left | The Cook Political Report[13] | November 9, 2023 | ||
| align=left | Inside Elections[14] | November 9, 2023 | ||
| align=left | Sabato's Crystal Ball[15] | November 9, 2023 | ||
| align=left | Decision Desk HQ/The Hill[16] | June 8, 2024 | ||
| align=left | Elections Daily[17] | May 4, 2023 | ||
| align=left | CNalysis[18] | November 21, 2023 |
| Campaign finance reports as of June 30, 2024 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Raised | Spent | Cash on hand | |
| Deb Fischer (R) | $6,263,797 | $3,778,940 | $2,996,473 | |
| Dan Osborn (I) | $1,645,585 | $995,866 | $649,719 | |
| Source: Federal Election Commission[19] | ||||
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size | Margin of error | Deb Fischer (R) | Dan Osborn (I) | Undecided | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| YouGov | July 31 - August 12, 2024 | 500 (RV) | ± 5.2% | 43% | 41% | 16% | ||
| Red Wave Strategy Group/ Impact Research | July 8–11, 2024 | 500 (RV) | – | 42% | 42% | 16% | ||
| Public Policy Polling (D) | April 24–25, 2024 | 737 (RV) | ± 3.6% | 37% | 33% | 30% | ||
| Change Research (D) | November 13–16, 2023 | 1,048 (LV) | ± 3.1%[20] | 38% | 40% | 22% |