2026 race · follow the money
Nebraska U.S. Senate
8 filings report $23M raised, and outside groups reported $1.5M in independent spending for or against them. Compare where each campaign's money came from and who spent to help or hurt it.
The count.
Checking the election sources…
Side by side.
Raised excludes transfers between a candidate's own committees. Shares are of that total. Filings appear in order of money raised; this includes primary candidates who are no longer running.
| Candidate | Raised | Individuals | PACs | Own money | Spent | Cash | Outside for | Outside against |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pete RickettsRepublican · Filed as incumbent | $12M | 23% | 16% | 60% | $14M | $1.2M | $784K | $431 |
| Dan OsbornIndependent · Filed as challenger | $11M | 97% | 2% | <0.1% | $9.1M | $2.0M | $71K | $110K |
| Benjamin E. SasseRepublican · Filed as challenger | $49K | 0% | 0% | 0% | $396K | $2.1M | — | — |
| Cindy BurbankDE · Filed as challenger | $49K | 100% | 0% | 0% | $26K | $23K | $422K | — |
| Mike MarvinOther · Filed as challenger | $28K | 100% | 0% | 0% | $28K | $0 | $73K | — |
| William ForbesDemocrat · Filed as challenger | $1,000 | 0% | 0% | 100% | $1,000 | $0 | — | $63K |
| Charles ConboyOther · Filed as challenger | $0 | — | — | — | $88 | $-88 | — | — |
| Robin RichardsOther · Filed as challenger | $0 | — | — | — | $0 | $0 | — | — |
Who spent from outside.
The largest independent spenders in this race, summed from each candidate's five largest spenders on each side.
- COMMON DEFENSE ACTION FUND$286K for Cindy Burbank · $73K for Mike Marvin · $63K against William Forbes
- FELLOWSHIP PAC$350K for Pete Ricketts
- DEFENDING OUR VALUES PAC$263K for Pete Ricketts
- SLF PAC$157K for Pete Ricketts · $100K against Dan Osborn
- NEBRASKA DEMOCRATIC PARTY$136K for Cindy Burbank
- PROGRESSIVE TURNOUT PROJECT$48K for Dan Osborn
- THOMAS PAINE SOCIETY L.L.C.$21K for Dan Osborn
- CLUB FOR GROWTH PAC$15K for Pete Ricketts
- RED SENATE$9,999 against Dan Osborn
- LGBTQ CONNECTION PAC$1,301 for Dan Osborn
Each campaign.
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.
- 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
Biggest spenders opposing
- INDIGO PAC $431
Largest direct PAC contributions
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.
- Raised
- $11M
- Spent
- $9.1M
- Cash on hand
- $2.0M
- Debts
- $25K
- Individuals 97% $11M
- PACs & other committees 2% $230K
- Party committees <0.1% $200
- Candidate's own money & loans <0.1% $11
- Other receipts 0.5% $54K
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026. Excludes $171K moved between the candidate's own committees.
Outside groups: $71K supporting · $110K opposing ($181K of it designated for the general election)
Biggest spenders supporting
Biggest spenders opposing
- SLF PAC $100K
- RED SENATE $9,999
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $7.4M in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $7.4M of the $9.1M the campaign reported spending through Oct 14, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Sep 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 41% $3.0M
- Consultants & strategy 6% $435K
- Staff & payroll 20% $1.5M
- Fundraising & processing fees 17% $1.3M
- Polling, research & data 6% $426K
- Travel, meals & events 2% $162K
- Office, technology & overhead 3% $229K
- Legal & compliance 4% $330K
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 0.1% $5,000
- Other or unclassified 1% $78K
Largest payees
- OF INDEPENDENCE $1.8M
- DIGITAL STRATEGY GROUP $1.1M
- PAYROLL DATA PROCESSING $1.0M
- FDM CONNECTS $583K
- HELIX CAMPAIGNS $514K
Paid to individuals: $122K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Apr 7, 2025 to Sep 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (1,874 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.
- Raised
- $49K
- Spent
- $396K
- Cash on hand
- $2.1M
- Other receipts 100% $49K
Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
Where the money went $222K in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $222K of the $396K the campaign reported spending through Sep 30, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 9, 2026.
- Office, technology & overhead 0.5% $1,026
- Legal & compliance 3% $6,230
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 87% $193K
- Other or unclassified 10% $22K
Largest payees
- AMERICA 101 $193K
- AMERICAN EXPRESS $22K
- AXCAPITAL, LLC $5,730
- INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE $1,026
- SAME DAY PROCESSING $500
Payments dated Jan 6, 2025 to Jun 9, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (19 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.
- Raised
- $49K
- Spent
- $26K
- Cash on hand
- $23K
- Individuals 100% $49K
Campaign totals through Sep 30, 2026.
Outside groups: $422K supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Largest direct PAC contributions
Where the money went $19K in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $19K of the $26K the campaign reported spending through Sep 30, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Jun 30, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 4% $725
- Travel, meals & events 9% $1,589
- Office, technology & overhead 69% $13K
- Legal & compliance 16% $3,000
- Other or unclassified 2% $408
Largest payees
- SCALE TO WIN $3,135
- INTEGRATED SOLUTIONS: POLITICAL $2,803
- BRUSHFIRE $1,063
- DEMOCRACY ENGINE, INC., PAC $781
- ACTBLUE TECHNICAL SERVICES $654
Paid to individuals: $10K, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Apr 2, 2026 to Jun 30, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (25 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.
- Raised
- $28K
- Spent
- $28K
- Cash on hand
- $0
- Individuals 100% $28K
Campaign totals through Sep 11, 2026.
Outside groups: $73K supporting · $0 opposing
Biggest spenders supporting
Where the money went $25K in itemized spending
These itemized payments cover $25K of the $28K the campaign reported spending through Sep 11, 2026. The FEC has not yet itemized the rest in its bulk file, which runs to Sep 4, 2026.
- Advertising & outreach 45% $11K
- Consultants & strategy 15% $3,750
- Fundraising & processing fees 3% $637
- Polling, research & data 6% $1,500
- Office, technology & overhead 4% $900
- Legal & compliance 26% $6,410
- Contributions, transfers & refunds 2% $516
Largest payees
- HIGHPOINT CAMPAIGNS $4,000
- BELL COMPLIANCE LLC $3,845
- GOOGLE, INC $3,375
- SCALE TO WIN $2,338
- L2, INC $900
Paid to individuals: $7,815, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Mar 2, 2026 to Sep 4, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (32 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.
- Raised
- $1,000
- Spent
- $1,000
- Cash on hand
- $0
- Candidate's own money & loans 100% $1,000
Campaign totals through May 21, 2026.
Outside groups: $0 supporting · $63K opposing
Biggest spenders opposing
Where the money went $1,000 in itemized spending
- Advertising & outreach 100% $1,000
Paid to individuals: $1,000, such as staff, contractors and reimbursements. People who were paid are not named here.
Payments dated Apr 22, 2026 to Apr 22, 2026, as itemized by the principal campaign committee in FEC reports (1 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.
- Raised
- $0
- Spent
- $88
- Cash on hand
- $-88
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
No itemized operating expenditures from this candidate's principal campaign committee are in the FEC bulk file yet.
- Raised
- $0
- Spent
- $0
- Cash on hand
- $0
Campaign totals through Oct 14, 2026.
No independent expenditures for or against this filing are itemized in the bulk file.
No itemized operating expenditures from this candidate's principal campaign committee are in the FEC bulk file yet.
Also registered for this seat, with no campaign summary or outside spending in the bulk file: Mac Stevens, Edward Dunn, Debra Leanne Axtell Schultz, Gavin Solomon.
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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.