After losing the senatorial race to Senator Deb Fischer, Dan Osborn stayed quiet for a few days. He broke his silence with a social media post thanking everyone who got involved in his race.
Osborn lost the race by 7 points, winning a majority of votes in Lancaster, Sarpy and Douglas counties. Despite this, he has maintained a positive attitude.
Recently, Osborn announced that he was in the process of creating a Political Action Committee known as the Working Class Heroes Fund. The goal of this PAC is to support working-class individuals running for public office.
The mission according to the PAC website is to, “give the working class a seat at the table.”
There are speculations that Osborn might run for office again in 2026, though he has not confirmed whether he will do so.
The important thing to note is the vehicle in which he helped to create that would benefit not only himself in a future run but anyone who would want to run for public office. Osborn has stated in many of his campaign events that his goal of running was not only to represent Nebraska but to show that anyone can run for office.
The creation of this PAC represents a certain change in Nebraska politics, in that the creation of this PAC creates a level of hope in people. If I wanted to run for office, for example, I know this PAC would help support me.
Osborn ran his campaign on the fact that he was a working man. He has stated that he wants to see other people like him in Congress. Despite his loss, he wanted to extend a hand to others in the hopes that someone else like him could find the confidence and the funds to run for office.
The implications this has is interesting. Sen. Deb Fischer was forced to spend a lot of money on her campaign to combat Osborn’s messaging. Pete Ricketts didn’t even really need to campaign and was working off of name recognition alone, despite not being elected to the Senate in the first place.
This PAC would not only help working-class individuals run for office, but Osborn has pledged to use PAC funds to support unions and strikes. This provides an incentive and a safety net for individuals who might have been nervous about unionizing their workplace. Osborn’s union received a generous donation from the Friends of Bernie Sanders PAC back in 2021 during the Kelogg’s strike. This is his way of paying it forward.
The creation of this PAC will pave a new path for politics in Nebraska. It is also a signifier that real change is coming our way very soon.
