2026 candidate · follow the money
Who funds Pete Ricketts?
What they did in office.
Sitting member of Congress · Pete Ricketts
In the U.S. Senate (NE) since 2023 · current term ends Jan 3, 2027
- Recorded yea or nay on 16 of the 16 key Senate floor votes captured in Hugin's snapshot
- 4 committees: Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, Budget, Environment and Public Works, Foreign Relations · 9 subcommittees
- 273 committees reported contributions to them this cycle · 5 committees reported outside spending for or against them
Linked to this filing by its exact FEC candidate ID (S6NE00129) in the congress-legislators roster of Oct 21, 2026. Votes are one key floor vote per bill on bills named in contractor lobbying reports (Oct 29, 2026); committee seats are the roster as of Oct 24, 2026; money counts are FEC reports for 2026 as of Oct 24, 2026. These are what Hugin's snapshots captured, not complete records, and none of them is a score or evidence of motive.
The money.
- Raised
- $12M
- Spent
- $14M
- Cash on hand
- $1.2M
- Individuals 23% $2.9M
- PACs & other committees 16% $1.9M
- Party committees 0.5% $62K
- Candidate's own money & loans 60% $7.3M
- Other receipts 0.7% $80K
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $2.3M moved between the candidate's own committees.
Outside groups: $784K supporting · $431 opposing ($5,066 of it designated for the general election)
Biggest spenders supporting
- FELLOWSHIP PAC $350K
- DEFENDING OUR VALUES PAC $263K
- SLF PAC $157K
- CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC $15K
Biggest spenders opposing
- INDIGO PAC $431
Largest direct PAC contributions
Who gave.
Who gives $2.9M from individuals
11% in small-dollar gifts
$323K of $2.9M came unitemized: from donors whose gifts to the campaign this cycle total $200 or less, whom the campaign does not have to name.
The itemized gifts below add up to $2.0M of the $2.5M the campaign reported itemizing through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet processed the rest into its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026 for this campaign.
31% from Nebraska · 69% from elsewhere
Of itemized gifts, by the state on each donor's mailing address. Giving from other states is lawful and common.
21% of itemized dollars came earmarked through a conduit such as ActBlue or WinRed; each gift is counted once.
Top states
- Nebraska $603K
- New York $146K
- Texas $142K
- Virginia $101K
- Michigan $89K
- California $83K
- Florida $77K
- Connecticut $71K
Top employers named by donors
- PEARSON & ASSOCIATES $123K
- HOLTZMAN VOGEL PLLC $38K
- BP $24K
- MARQUIS MANAGEMENT INC $20K
- COINBASE $18K
- GOOGLE $15K
- DCI GROUP $15K
- S-3 GROUP $14K
- APOLLO GLOBAL MANAGEMENT $12K
- BUNGE NORTH AMERICA PAC $12K
Employers as donors wrote them on the form. A company listed here did not give this money; people who work there did.
Retired, self-employed, not employed or not given: $239K. Employers named by fewer than three donors, or filed as a person's name: $1.4M, not listed so no one donor is singled out.
Summary through Oct 14, 2026. Itemized gifts dated Jan 2, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, net of refunds (2,067 entries). Every itemized contribution on FEC.gov ↗
From the principal campaign committee's FEC reports; joint-fundraising transfers and later reports are not included, and no donor is named here. A contribution is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.
Outside money in the final weeks.
Outside spending including late reports: $2.0M for / $24M against · $8.4M in the final two weeks
That is $25M more than the $784K in regular reports alone. Source: FEC regular reports plus 24- and 48-hour reports they do not yet cover. The final two weeks run Oct 21, 2026 to Nov 3, 2026, by the date each ad or mailing went out.
$2.9M of the $26M on late reports was filed as an estimate. A 24- or 48-hour report is due within a day or two of the spending; the spender's later regular report carries the final cost.
What it bought, per the late reports
- TV, radio & streaming TV 52% $14M
- Digital ads 24% $6.1M
- Ads, medium not stated 15% $3.9M
- Mail, print & signs 6% $1.7M
- Phones & texts 2% $434K
- Ad production 0.8% $208K
- Other or unclassified <0.1% $49
Largest late spenders for
- SLF PAC $772K
- FELLOWSHIP PAC $350K
- DEFENDING OUR VALUES PAC $263K
- AMERICA FIRST ACTION FUND $200K
- CORNHUSKER MAJORITY $132K
Largest late spenders against
Latest dissemination on these reports: November 3, 2026. FEC 24- and 48-hour independent-expenditure reports read November 4, 2026, with amended and re-filed reports counted once (190 entries). These reports on FEC.gov ↗
Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate and is not the candidate's money. Purposes are grouped from each spender's own description, so the groups are approximate. A dollar figure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing.
Where it went.
Where the money went $4.7M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $4.7M of the $14M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 54% $2.6M
- Consultants & strategy 6% $259K
- Staff & payroll 10% $485K
- Fundraising & processing fees 13% $607K
- Polling, research & data 4% $202K
- Travel, meals & events 4% $192K
- Office, technology & overhead 2% $109K
- Legal & compliance 5% $256K
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.1% $5,123
- Other or unclassified 0.8% $40K
Largest payees
- AXMEDIA $2.2M
- AXIOM STRATEGIES $275K
- JBEST & COMPANY $209K
- FUNDRAISING, INC. $168K
- SOCKO STRATEGIES LLC $147K
Paid to individuals: $440K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Jan 2, 2025 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (897 entries). Every payment on FEC.gov ↗
Grouped by each campaign's own description of the payment, so the groups are approximate. Payments of $200 or less to one payee need not be itemized, detail filed only as memo entries counts under other or unclassified, and spending by the candidate's other committees or by outside groups is not included. A payment is not evidence of a favor or wrongdoing.
Others who filed for this seat.
- Dan OsbornIndependent · $11M raised · $181K outside
- Benjamin E. SasseRepublican · $49K raised
- Cindy BurbankDE · $49K raised · $422K outside
- Mike MarvinOther · $28K raised · $73K outside
- William ForbesDemocrat · $1,000 raised · $63K outside
- Charles ConboyOther · $0 raised
- Robin RichardsOther · $0 raised
Questions worth asking.
Money shows who backed a campaign, not how a person will act. Compare it with what they did and said: their votes or official actions if they have held office, their own statements, and their answers to a finding. Use the same questions for every candidate.
FEC bulk data read November 4, 2026. Campaign totals come from each filing's own FEC summary through its latest processed report. Outside spending is independent expenditures itemized in committee reports in the FEC bulk files, primaries included; late 24- and 48-hour reports, party coordinated spending, communication costs and groups that do not report to the FEC are not included. Outside spending is, by law, made without coordinating with the candidate, and it is not the candidate's money. A contribution or expenditure is not evidence of a vote, favor or wrongdoing. This page identifies the filing by its FEC candidate ID; a person can hold more than one filing.