Two-term Republican Sen. Deb Fischer is defending her Senate seat in a contest that's grown unexpectedly competitive in Nebraska, a reliably red state, with polls indicating a tight race against independent candidate Dan Osborn in the lead-up to Election Day.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer faces her strongest reelection challenge yet Tuesday as she takes on a former labor union boss who eschewed both major political parties to run as an independent while painting himself as a working class champion.

An unexpected win for independent candidate Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate race would deal a blow to Republicans, but it wouldn’t necessarily be a boon for Democrats. Nebraska’s Senate seats have long been uncompetitive for Republicans as the last time a Democrat was elected to represent the state in the upper

The latest poll in Nebraska's closer-than-expected U.S. Senate race shows independent candidate Dan Osborn leading GOP Sen. Deb Fischer by 2 points, his campaign said.

Osborn brought his campaign to northeast Nebraska on Wednesday, meeting voters in Wayne and South Sioux City before heading to Oakland and other towns tomorrow. The union welder, who is running as an independent, told voters he wants to bringing together people of all backgrounds, adding that the two-party system is getting nothing done.

A new poll of Nebraska’s unexpectedly tight Senate race shows the independent challenger, former union leader Dan Osborn, within striking distance of two-term

Even as outside polling shows a competitive race for U.S. Senate in ruby-red Nebraska, Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer remains adamant that her challenge from nonpartisan industrial mechanic Dan Osborn is a media-driven fabrication.