Cindy Burbank senate withdrawal moved into the open when the Nebraska Democratic Senate nominee asked election officials to remove her name from the November ballot. Her request could leave Pete Ricketts and Dan Osborn as the main contenders in Nebraska’s U.S. Senate race.
Secretarial office receives letter
Rani Taborek-Potter, a spokesperson with Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office, said the office received Burbank’s letter. She said the secretary of state will send a letter to the state attorney general asking whether to honor the request and remove Burbank from the ballot.
Burbank said in a video sent via text message, “My candidacy for Senate was a privilege I’ll never forget,” and “You deserve representation that works for you.” She added, “I’ve looked at the numbers. I won’t be your next senator. So I have withdrawn my bid for U.S. Senate.”
Ricketts and Osborn
If the request is honored, the race would narrow to Pete Ricketts and Dan Osborn. That would leave Nebraska voters with a one-on-one contest in a state where a Democrat has not won a Nebraska Senate seat since 2006.
Burbank’s message did not endorse Osborn. She urged her voters to “educate yourselves about the remaining candidates,” after her website had described him as someone who “deserves a fair shot against Ricketts.”
May and 2024
The withdrawal also complicates Burbank’s own public line from May, when she told News, “I will drop out when and if the time comes that I cannot win in November. And I think anybody with any dignity should do that.” She had repeatedly said she would consider dropping out and endorsing Osborn if she did not think she had a path to victory.
Last year, Jane Kleeb wrote on X that the Nebraska Democratic Party was supporting Dan Osborn, while Jose Flores Jr. said, “We will back the coalition of Democrats, Republicans, and independents who support Dan Osborn for US Senate.”
Burbank’s move arrives after Osborn lost by almost 7 points in his 2024 Senate bid against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, and after then-Vice President Kamala Harris lost Nebraska by more than 20 points in the presidential race. Nick Puglia called him “Democrat Dan Osborn” and said, “Nebraskans will reject Osborn again,” as the ballot review now moves to the state attorney general.
