Nebraska Senate Race

2026 Election • Class 2
Back to Senate Races

Primary

Democratic Primary

Held May 12, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Cindy Burbank 110,210 89.5%
William Forbes 12,863 10.5%

Republican Primary

Held May 12, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Pete Ricketts 160,547 100.0%

Legal Marijuana Now Primary

Held May 12, 2026.

CandidateVotes%
Mike Marvin 829 66.4%
Earl Starkey 420 33.6%

Full calendar and every race: Nebraska primary guide

Race Overview

Incumbent
Pete Ricketts
Party
Republican
Open Seat
No
Current Rating
Lean R expert avg

Race Ratings

Cook Political Report

Lean R

Inside Elections

Lean R

Sabato's Crystal Ball

Leans R
Changed from Likely R on Feb 1

Candidates

Pete Ricketts

Pete Ricketts Nominee Incumbent

Republican
Total Raised: $11,233,507
Cash on Hand: $6,910,970

Mike Marvin Nominee

O
Total Raised: $27,745
Cash on Hand: $2,616
Dan Osborn

Dan Osborn Nominee

Independent
Total Raised: $5,751,951
Cash on Hand: $2,421,487

Average reflects all polls from the last 30 days; table shows the most recent 30 days or the newest 3 polls, whichever is more. How accurate is each pollster? →

No polls in the last 90 days.

Questions About This Race

Is the 2026 Nebraska Senate race competitive?

Yes — the expert consensus rates it Lean R: Republicans are favored, but the race is competitive.

When is the 2026 Nebraska Senate race decided?

Election Day is Tuesday, November 3, 2026.

How is the PollingSource average calculated?

The PollingSource average is the unweighted mean of every scientific public poll of the race from the last 30 days — we do not exclude pollsters. Each race page lists the individual polls behind the average with pollster, field dates, sample size, and margin of error. Full details: pollingsource.com/methodology.

Race Notes

Appointed 2023; first full term election

Independent Expenditures Updated 7 hours ago

$3,526,361
Total IE Spending
$2,554,142
Support
$972,219
Oppose

Top Spenders

Full outside-spending research — every committee, every race →

Race News