A video circulating this week shows Nebraska independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn telling a supporter that he plans to pursue LGBTQ rights and immigration issues once in office, even though he avoids emphasizing those topics on the campaign trail.
The remarks were reportedly made at a town hall in South Omaha on May 25. According to the video, Osborn told the person, described as a transgender supporter, “I can go and I can be the voice for LGBTQ and immigration and all of these issues. Then I lose the election. It feels good in the moment. At the end of the day, I’m gonna win this election. And then I’ll be the Senator for six years and everybody else can f-off.”
The town hall was closed to press. Reporting on the event states that a mother and daughter attended carrying a petition for the Fairness for Girls measure, a proposed state constitutional amendment that would add protections for girls’ sports and will appear on Nebraska’s November ballot. Osborn did not sign the petition. He reportedly told the pair the measure was “rooted in hate” and did not commit to supporting protections for girls’ sports. The two were later confronted by Osborn supporters and left the event, according to the reporting.
The video’s release follows a separate controversy last week in which Osborn was recorded making comments about Trump supporters in Nebraska, remarks he later addressed in a CNN interview.
Where the Race Stands
Osborn, who describes himself as an independent, is running against incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts. A recent Wedgewood Polls survey showed Ricketts leading Osborn 52 percent to 48 percent. Real Clear Politics currently rates the seat as Lean Republican.
Neither the Osborn campaign nor the Ricketts campaign has issued a public statement responding to the newly circulated video as of this writing.
