odanny
Diamond Member
This is pretty cool, because this dude was punching a time clock for 20 years, and Nebraska is a state with an independent streak when it comes to politics. His GOP opponent has all of the money behind her, where as his average campaign contribution is $36.
OMAHA ā As a Trump-endorsed Republican in a deep-red state, Sen. Deb Fischer might expect an easy reelection. Instead, sheās in perhaps the tightest Senate race in America ā so says the election data site 538ā against a rookie politician named Dan Osborn, a mechanic turned union leader with tattooed forearms and a level gaze.
In fine Nebraska style, Osborn doesnāt fit the mold, even if this is a state known to send the occasional Democrat to Washington. But heād like to become the mold. āI want to pave the way for nurses, teachers, plumbers, carpenters and other working people to run for office. I want to show that you donāt have to be a self-funding crypto billionaire to run.ā
Not that Fischer, whose family owns a cattle ranch in north-central Nebraska, is a billionaire. But she has backing from enough big-money donors that Osborn suggests in his stump speech that candidates should be required to wear NASCAR-style jackets. Her sponsor patches, he says, would include the biggest railroads and agribusinesses in the state. As for his patches: Although he proudly says that the average donation to his campaign is just $36, Osborn doesnāt mention that his jacket would need to acknowledge the millions of dollars in outside supportfrom Democratic groups eager to knock off a Republican incumbent.
To Fischerās claim that Osborn is a Democrat in disguise and would caucus with Senate Democrats, Osborn replies that he has always registered as an independent and would seek to organize a caucus of independent senators who would potentially determine control of the chamber.
āBrother Osborn,ā as he was repeatedly called, followed family tradition and enlisted in the Navy after high school. After four years and an honorable discharge, he enrolled in college, but left school when the first of his three children was on her way. After Osborn landed a job as an industrial mechanic at the Kellogg breakfast cereal factory in Omaha, he rose through the union ranks and found himself in 2021 faced with an unacceptable contract offer and a membership ready to strike for the first time in nearly half a century.
Osborn touts as proof of his nonpartisan style his success in coaxing a Republican member of Congress to visit the picket line and in working with the Republican governor to encourage a settlement. Fired soon after the strike ended, he decided to take his shot on the campaign trail. āAfter 20 years of punching a clock at the same place, working 70 hours a week with the same people, Iām enjoying it,ā he told me. āI didnāt ever go to the State Fair before.ā
OMAHA ā As a Trump-endorsed Republican in a deep-red state, Sen. Deb Fischer might expect an easy reelection. Instead, sheās in perhaps the tightest Senate race in America ā so says the election data site 538ā against a rookie politician named Dan Osborn, a mechanic turned union leader with tattooed forearms and a level gaze.
In fine Nebraska style, Osborn doesnāt fit the mold, even if this is a state known to send the occasional Democrat to Washington. But heād like to become the mold. āI want to pave the way for nurses, teachers, plumbers, carpenters and other working people to run for office. I want to show that you donāt have to be a self-funding crypto billionaire to run.ā
Not that Fischer, whose family owns a cattle ranch in north-central Nebraska, is a billionaire. But she has backing from enough big-money donors that Osborn suggests in his stump speech that candidates should be required to wear NASCAR-style jackets. Her sponsor patches, he says, would include the biggest railroads and agribusinesses in the state. As for his patches: Although he proudly says that the average donation to his campaign is just $36, Osborn doesnāt mention that his jacket would need to acknowledge the millions of dollars in outside supportfrom Democratic groups eager to knock off a Republican incumbent.
To Fischerās claim that Osborn is a Democrat in disguise and would caucus with Senate Democrats, Osborn replies that he has always registered as an independent and would seek to organize a caucus of independent senators who would potentially determine control of the chamber.
āBrother Osborn,ā as he was repeatedly called, followed family tradition and enlisted in the Navy after high school. After four years and an honorable discharge, he enrolled in college, but left school when the first of his three children was on her way. After Osborn landed a job as an industrial mechanic at the Kellogg breakfast cereal factory in Omaha, he rose through the union ranks and found himself in 2021 faced with an unacceptable contract offer and a membership ready to strike for the first time in nearly half a century.
Osborn touts as proof of his nonpartisan style his success in coaxing a Republican member of Congress to visit the picket line and in working with the Republican governor to encourage a settlement. Fired soon after the strike ended, he decided to take his shot on the campaign trail. āAfter 20 years of punching a clock at the same place, working 70 hours a week with the same people, Iām enjoying it,ā he told me. āI didnāt ever go to the State Fair before.ā
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www.washingtonpost.com
