Cindy Burbank has asked election officials to remove her name from Nebraska’s November ballot, a move that could leave Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts and Dan Osborn alone in the state’s Senate race. The request now sits with the Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office, which said it received her letter and will seek guidance from the state attorney general on whether to honor it.
Burbank made the move after months of saying she would step aside if she did not see a path to victory. In a video sent by text message, she said her Senate candidacy had been “a privilege I’ll never forget” and told voters, “You deserve representation that works for you. I’ve looked at the numbers. I won’t be your next senator. So I have withdrawn my bid for U.S. Senate.” She also urged supporters to “educate yourselves about the remaining candidates.”
That wording matters because Burbank had previously said she would drop out only if she could not win in November. In May, before winning the Democratic nomination, she told News, “I will drop out when and if the time comes that I cannot win in November,” and added that “anybody with any dignity should do that.” Her request now forces a practical question: whether the ballot can be changed in time to produce the one-on-one matchup many Democrats in Nebraska have been pushing for.
But Burbank did not endorse Osborn in the message, even though her withdrawal could aid the outcome some Democrats have publicly backed. Last year, Jane Kleeb wrote that the Nebraska Democratic Party was supporting Dan Osborn and said a coalition of Dems, Indys and Republicans could beat Ricketts and break up one-party rule. Jose Flores Jr. later said the Nebraska Democratic Party would back the coalition of Democrats, Republicans and independents who support Osborn for US Senate.
The broader political math still cuts against Democrats. A Democrat has not won a Nebraska Senate seat since 2006, Osborn lost by almost 7 points in his 2024 Senate bid against Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, and Kamala Harris lost Nebraska by more than 20 points in the presidential race. Even so, Burbank’s withdrawal request could remove one name from the ballot and sharpen the race into the contest Republicans and independents have been anticipating. What happens next now turns on whether the attorney general agrees the request can be honored.
