The Scoop
Senate Republicans’ top super PAC is jumping into Nebraska’s closer-than-expected Senate race, according to details first shared with Semafor.
The Senate Leadership Fund plans to spend $3 million in the Cornhusker State over the final two weeks of the election. It’s the latest sign that Republicans are taking Independent candidate Dan Osborn seriously as he mounts a tough challenge to GOP Sen. Deb Fischer — who is lagging behind Donald Trump in Nebraska.
Republicans are not in full-scale panic mode over the seat, but Osborn is plainly making them sweat far more than they anticipated a few months ago. Republicans are favored to take back Senate control next month, but that confidence would evaporate in the event of a shock Fischer loss.
“California and New York Democrats are putting crazy money into Dan Osborn’s campaign,” Senate Leadership Fund President Steven Law said in a statement. “They’re not going to succeed, especially as Nebraska voters learn about Osborn’s Democrat ties and Bernie Sanders ideology. We’re just closing the gap a bit.”
The new Republican ad buy will bring Fischer closer to parity with Osborn when it comes to air support; the independent’s bid has already gotten support from several super PACs and has given his supporters a spending advantage. The conservative ESA Fund also launched ads to help Fischer, and the National Republican Senatorial Committee did a coordinated ad buy with the two-term senator.
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There have been few independent polls in the Nebraska race, leaving the real margin between Fischer and Osborn somewhat opaque. Based on their internal polling, Republicans think Fischer is gaining momentum and can dispatch Osborn with a bit of targeted spending. Still, Osborn’s competitiveness this late in the race is impressive, even as national Democrats stay far away. They know leaping in would be counterproductive to his independent candidacy.
The Republican move in Nebraska comes as Democrats try to push the Senate map beyond its usual battlegrounds to the red states of Florida and Texas. And Larry Hogan’s run in Maryland has prompted Democratic super PACs to pour money into his reliably blue state; just like Republicans in Nebraska, Democrats just aren’t taking any chances in Maryland.