Nebraskans raised in an era of Republican dominance have grown accustomed to sleepy statewide races decided in GOP primaries. But the television airwaves this fall hint at something different: a U.S. Senate race with two candidates competing for ad time.
Local political observers still expect Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer of Lincoln to survive a tougher-than-expected challenge from nonpartisan labor leader Dan Osborn of Omaha. But national Republicans and Democrats are starting to pay attention.
One reason is a nearly $480,000 investment in attack ads against Osborn by Heartland Resurgence, a Missouri-based Super PAC with historic ties to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a longtime Fischer friend, along with other large GOP donors to Senate campaigns.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee has also worked with Fischer on a recent joint $172,000 ad purchase.
In swing states, national Republicans spending at least a half-million dollars in a Senate race would barely register as a blip. In Nebraska, where the GOP holds a 2-to-1 voter registration advantage over Democrats, it raises eyebrows.
Democrats and Republicans familiar with Nebraska U.S. Senate races said they hadn’t seen outside money spent at such a significant clip since at least 2012, when Fischer beat former Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Kerrey by 16 percentage points.
Posted by John3262005