Race is now practically a head-to-head between Osborn and Ricketts – for now
Cutouts at an Omaha office of the Nebraska Democratic Party on April 3, 2026. (Juan Salinas II/ Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Democratic Central Committee voted Sunday not to fill the vacancy caused when Cindy Burbank dropped out of the Senate race.
The committee approved a motion not to fill the party ballot line for the race – continuing the Democratic strategy of clearing the field for nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.
There was only one objection. Crystal Rhoades tried to offer an amendment to nominate Kishla Askins, who was a candidate in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary, to replace Burbank, but it was ruled out of order. Rhoades, who is the Douglas County District Court clerk, was also a candidate in that primary.
Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb confirmed the motion and vote via text.
Inside the meeting
Audio from the meeting obtained by the Examiner shows that Rhoades rose to nominate Askins, and Kleeb ruled her motion out of order because someone had already moved not to fill the vacancy.
“You actually can’t. A nomination supersedes everything except an adjournment, but I will speak to why I want to make this nomination,” Rhoades told Kleeb.
In response, Kleeb repeated “you’re out of order” twice, with others in the room echoing her ruling.
“The motion on the floor is what we’re discussing,” Kleeb said.
Rhoades responded “very good” and said they are the Democratic Party, “not the ‘Nonpartisan Party’, not the ‘Everybody-but-Republican Party.’”
“And the conversation that we are having here is the wrong conversation, because the conversation we need to be having is why won’t Nebraskans elect a Democrat?” Rhoades said.
She noted the party’s condemnation just that afternoon of an ad from an Osborn-aligned political action committee where he said he would oppose allowing transgender student-athletes to play on teams matching the students’ gender.
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“We should not be doing this,” Rhoades continued. “We should be looking for ways to make our party functional enough to elect Democrats.”
Kleeb, in response, told Rhoades: “Thank you for your feedback. I’ll remind everybody that 99% of the candidates that we’re supporting are Democrats.”
Jacob Carmichael, an at-large representative from Legislative District 9 in midtown Omaha, the same district as Rhoades, said the conversation she mentioned should be had but that nominating someone who wasn’t on the ballot for Senate, but who lost her own congressional primary “by a good amount, is just not smart.”
“We can strategize. We can build power. We can have conversations about more effective ways and changes we need to do that,” Carmichael said. “We cannot do that 72 days before an election.”
Michael Marcheck, chair of the Nebraska Stonewall Democrats, the LGBTQ caucus which endorsed Askins in the spring, rose to speak in opposition to Rhoades’ idea. Kleeb cut him short
Kleeb released a statement after the vote saying, “The vote affirms our strategy, the best way to break up corrupt one-party Republican rule in the Senate is to put a mechanic up against a billionaire. Nebraskans deserve a senator who’s turned a wrench, not one who’s inherited a fortune.”
She added that 98% of the candidates the party is supporting are Democrats.
“Almost 350 Dems are on the ballot this year. We are also proud to support some Independent candidates because we believe Nebraska deserves a coalition of voters who can come together beyond party lines to build a stronger Nebraska for all families, not just those at the top,” Kleeb said.
The committee vote happened amid a lawsuit by William Forbes, who lost to Burbank in the Senate primary.
A Lancaster County district judge earlier declined to grant Forbes a temporary injunction to force the party to replace Burbank. Judge Susan Strong said Forbes was unlikely to succeed in forcing the party to fill the spot.
A court hearing is scheduled Monday morning in the case.
Kleeb wrote in her court affidavit for the lawsuit that deciding not to fill the vacancy “would align with NDP’s organizational strategy and political desires to oust Republican Senator Ricketts and ensure that Nebraskans enjoy more diversified political representation in Congress.”
Burbank was among candidates accused of being a “plant” to help either Osborn or incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, an allegation all have denied. Burbank filed to withdraw one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn’s petition signatures to be on the fall ballot.
While the race is technically a three-person contest, Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin suspended his campaign and endorsed Osborn last week. The race between Osborn and Ricketts has turned state politics upside down with multiple lawsuits surrounding it.
The candidate list in the Senate race isn’t set in stone because there might be two new state political parties — pending a state Supreme Court ruling.
The general election is Nov. 3.
Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.
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by Juan Salinas II, Nebraska Examiner
August 23, 2026
by Juan Salinas II, Nebraska Examiner
August 23, 2026
LINCOLN — The Nebraska Democratic Central Committee voted Sunday not to fill the vacancy caused when Cindy Burbank dropped out of the Senate race.
The committee approved a motion not to fill the party ballot line for the race – continuing the Democratic strategy of clearing the field for nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.
There was only one objection. Crystal Rhoades tried to offer an amendment to nominate Kishla Askins, who was a candidate in the 2nd Congressional District Democratic primary, to replace Burbank, but it was ruled out of order. Rhoades, who is the Douglas County District Court clerk, was also a candidate in that primary.
Party Chairwoman Jane Kleeb confirmed the motion and vote via text.
Inside the meeting
Audio from the meeting obtained by the Examiner shows that Rhoades rose to nominate Askins, and Kleeb ruled her motion out of order because someone had already moved not to fill the vacancy.
“You actually can’t. A nomination supersedes everything except an adjournment, but I will speak to why I want to make this nomination,” Rhoades told Kleeb.
In response, Kleeb repeated “you’re out of order” twice, with others in the room echoing her ruling.
“The motion on the floor is what we’re discussing,” Kleeb said.
Rhoades responded “very good” and said they are the Democratic Party, “not the ‘Nonpartisan Party’, not the ‘Everybody-but-Republican Party.’”
“And the conversation that we are having here is the wrong conversation, because the conversation we need to be having is why won’t Nebraskans elect a Democrat?” Rhoades said.
She noted the party’s condemnation just that afternoon of an ad from an Osborn-aligned political action committee where he said he would oppose allowing transgender student-athletes to play on teams matching the students’ gender.
“We should not be doing this,” Rhoades continued. “We should be looking for ways to make our party functional enough to elect Democrats.”
Kleeb, in response, told Rhoades: “Thank you for your feedback. I’ll remind everybody that 99% of the candidates that we’re supporting are Democrats.”
Jacob Carmichael, an at-large representative from Legislative District 9 in midtown Omaha, the same district as Rhoades, said the conversation she mentioned should be had but that nominating someone who wasn’t on the ballot for Senate, but who lost her own congressional primary “by a good amount, is just not smart.”
“We can strategize. We can build power. We can have conversations about more effective ways and changes we need to do that,” Carmichael said. “We cannot do that 72 days before an election.”
Michael Marcheck, chair of the Nebraska Stonewall Democrats, the LGBTQ caucus which endorsed Askins in the spring, rose to speak in opposition to Rhoades’ idea. Kleeb cut him short
Kleeb released a statement after the vote saying, “The vote affirms our strategy, the best way to break up corrupt one-party Republican rule in the Senate is to put a mechanic up against a billionaire. Nebraskans deserve a senator who’s turned a wrench, not one who’s inherited a fortune.”
She added that 98% of the candidates the party is supporting are Democrats.
“Almost 350 Dems are on the ballot this year. We are also proud to support some Independent candidates because we believe Nebraska deserves a coalition of voters who can come together beyond party lines to build a stronger Nebraska for all families, not just those at the top,” Kleeb said.
The committee vote happened amid a lawsuit by William Forbes, who lost to Burbank in the Senate primary.
A Lancaster County district judge earlier declined to grant Forbes a temporary injunction to force the party to replace Burbank. Judge Susan Strong said Forbes was unlikely to succeed in forcing the party to fill the spot.
A court hearing is scheduled Monday morning in the case.
Kleeb wrote in her court affidavit for the lawsuit that deciding not to fill the vacancy “would align with NDP’s organizational strategy and political desires to oust Republican Senator Ricketts and ensure that Nebraskans enjoy more diversified political representation in Congress.”
Burbank was among candidates accused of being a “plant” to help either Osborn or incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, an allegation all have denied. Burbank filed to withdraw one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn’s petition signatures to be on the fall ballot.
While the race is technically a three-person contest, Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin suspended his campaign and endorsed Osborn last week. The race between Osborn and Ricketts has turned state politics upside down with multiple lawsuits surrounding it.
The candidate list in the Senate race isn’t set in stone because there might be two new state political parties — pending a state Supreme Court ruling.
The general election is Nov. 3.
Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Joan von Kampen for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. AP and Getty images may not be republished. Please see our republishing guidelines for use of any other photos and graphics.
Reporter Juan Salinas II covered local and state government for numerous outlets in Texas before joining the Examiner. His coverage focuses on showing everyday people the impact of politics and government. Salinas was born and raised in North Texas and was a two-time reporting fellow with States Newsroom partner The Texas Tribune. Before that, he interned at public radio station KERA and was a year-long reporting fellow at the Fort Worth Report.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
© Nebraska Examiner, 2026
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Nebraskans want accountability from their elected officials and government. They want to know whether their tax dollars are being well-spent, whether state agencies and local governments are responsive to the people and whether officials, programs and policies are working for the common good. The Nebraska Examiner is a nonprofit, independent news source committed to providing news, scoops and reports important to our state.
We’re part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.
Our stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. We ask that you edit only for style or to shorten, provide proper attribution and link to our website. (See full republishing guidelines.)
© Nebraska Examiner, 2026
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