U.S. Senate candidate profile: Dan Osborn

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Independent candidate Dan Osborn has secured a spot on the ballot through a petition and is set to challenge Republican Deb Fischer for her U.S. Senate seat in the November election.

We sent questionnaires to each candidate in the race. Responses from candidates are posted verbatim and not edited for spelling, grammar, or content.

Dan Osborn

Political Party: Independent

Seeking 6 year term

Website: https://osbornforsenate.com/

1. Please provide a brief overview of your background and what drives you to seek this office.

I joined the Navy right out of high school. I served four years in the Navy and four years in the Nebraska Army National Guard. After the military, I took a job as an industrial mechanic at the Kellogg’s plant in Omaha where I worked 60-70 hour weeks for 20 years to support my family. I was never really a political guy until corporate greed came knocking on my door – in 2021, a year of record profits, Kellogg’s threatened to slash its workers’ healthcare benefits and cost of living adjustments. For 77 days, I led a strike and organized a bipartisan coalition to support my coworkers and their families. I saw how working people in Nebraska need a voice in Washington – and now I’m running to be that voice.

2. What would be your top three priorities if (re)elected?

First off, corruption. We have to get special interest money out of Washington. That means campaign finance reform, ending Citizens United, banning Congressional stock trading. So many of our problems can be chased back to that, and if we don’t get this done it’s going to be hard to make progress on much of anything. Second, the economy. Getting inflation under control, ending the runaway deficit spending that’s driven inflation. Finally: we have to keep this country safe. That means securing our Southern border and frankly rebuilding our military.

3. How do you plan to advocate for federal support for Nebraska’s agriculture industry?

Congress needs to pass a farm bill. They just kicked the can down the road again. The reference prices in the bill are out of date and farmers are hurting every day we don’t address this. We also need to fix federal crop insurance subsidies, which unfairly favor large operators. In the Senate, I won’t play politics with critical legislation like the farm bill and I will defend family farms.We also need to pass a law protecting the right to repair. As an industrial mechanic, I know how important this is. Without a right to repair their own equipment, farmers and ranchers are effectively locked into costly lifetime contracts with manufacturers. Right to Repair is a bipartisan issue with overwhelming support. But sadly, opposition from giant corporations has kept us from moving forward. As an Independent, I can bring together a bipartisan coalition for Right to Repair.

4. What strategies do you propose to enhance the economy?

Let’s start with deficits. $36 trillion. That’s driving inflation through the roof, and it’s a time bomb for future generations. There’s so much waste, and we have multinational corporations parking their profits overseas, dodging their taxes – getting government handouts, basically.We’re leaving the middle-class and small businesses to shoulder our tax burden, passing the rest of the bill to our kids. That’s not right. We can cut middle-class and small business tax rates, cut wasteful spending, close loopholes, and drive down the deficit before it blows up our economy.We have to put money back in the pockets of ordinary people who spend it. I was saying cut taxes on overtime pay a year ago. Now Trump’s saying that. I think that’s a no-brainer.

5. What reforms need to be made to border security and immigration, if any? How do these issues directly impact Nebraskans?

It’s just ridiculous that our government can’t secure the Southern border. It’s not rocket science. More agents, more resources, faster processing, better equipment.The reason we haven’t secured the border is because our politicians don’t want to secure the border, and that’s because their special interest donors want open borders. They want illegal immigrants with no rights who they can pay next to nothing and push around. Securing the border means better wages and not everybody wants that.Legal immigration built this country. Illegal immigration needs to stop.

6. What is your stance on U.S. involvement in foreign conflicts such as those in Ukraine and Gaza? Do you support funding for these conflicts or sanctions against Russia?

Countries that are attacked have a right to defend themselves, and the U.S. can and should stand with our allies.Ukraine, we have to support Ukraine. I don’t want my son to have to fight in Europe, and if this goes south that could be where we’re headed. At the same time, we need to keep a better eye on where the money’s going. We know there’s been waste, we know there’s been corruption. Just because Ukraine is our ally doesn’t mean they get a blank check.Gaza. The attacks on October 7 were evil and horrible to watch. And I don’t think anyone can blame Israel for defending itself. I think it’s our job to do everything we can to get the hostages released and bring peace to the region, but anyone who thinks there’s an easy solution here is kidding themselves (or us).

7. How would you balance being mindful of taxpayer spending and also providing critical services like infrastructure, social security and more to Nebraskans?

There is so much waste in our government. The Pentagon can’t even pass an audit. Between tax-dodging and waste, there’s just so much within the deficit that our politicians won’t touch. If we cut giant handouts to billionaires and corporations, we can fund critical programs like social security and build better infrastructure without needing to raise taxes on the middle class.

8. Many Americans are frustrated and distrustful of our leadership in Washington. How can you work to help rebuild trust between Government and the American people?

People don’t trust their leadership because we know ultimately they don’t answer to us. They answer to their sponsors. Robin Williams said it best. They should be wearing NASCAR jackets with patches for their sponsors so we know who’s telling them how to vote. I think step one, if Washington is going to earn people’s trust, they need to end Citizens United. Until then, we all know that whoever they’re working for, they’re not working for us.

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