OMAHA — Dan Osborn, the former Nebraska nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate, announced a political action committee Tuesday aimed at boosting working-class candidates for Congress like him.

He designed his Working Class Heroes Fund as a hybrid PAC that blends a super PAC that can take donations with fewer limits and a separate account for independent expenditures.

The arrangement often allows donors to give more upfront and let a PAC’s leaders steer the money to where it is needed when it is needed, following federal election law.

Some have criticized such groups as political pass-throughs that empower larger donors to mask their influence by filtering money through smaller groups to candidates and causes.

Wants More Blue-Collar Candidates

Osborn said in a statement that his aim  is to empower more plumbers, carpenters, teachers, nurses and factory workers to run for office, with an emphasis on members of labor unions.

The announcement said the fund will help organize working-class voters to advocate for kitchen-table issues that matter for regular people.

Echoing some of his upstart campaign’s themes, Osborn said he wants to help members of Congress better reflect those they serve. He lost to U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., by about 6 percentage points.

His closer-than-expected contest grabbed national attention because Nebraska Republicans outnumber Democrats 2-to-1 in the state, and nonpartisans typically are split between the two major parties.

Osborn, an industrial mechanic who served in the Navy, said his campaign showed a path to drawing in candidates who work for a living, regardless of their partisan leanings.

“Congress is a bunch of millionaires controlled by billionaires and special interests,” he said. “Both parties are out of touch with working class voters, and regular people are fed up.”

Potential Vehicle To Aid Future Run

He made his name leading a 2021 strike at the Omaha Kellogg’s factory. The company has since announced that it plans to close the plant, although the union says it is working to save jobs.

Osborn, who stepped away from his job to run for office and paid himself using campaign funds, said he is returning to work as a steamfitter and will lead the PAC in his free time.

Some political observers have speculated that he might soon run again for office. He did not swat down that possibility during his run against Fischer, which he saw as an uphill fight.

Osborn had raised $7.9 million and spent $6.7 million by mid-October. Osborn’s campaign in October reported raising $3.3 million, a record quarter for any modern Nebraska Senate race. Fischer raised nearly $1 million in the same period.

Osborn benefited from roughly $20 million in outside spending on his behalf, either supporting his bid or bashing Fischer, campaign finance forms show. GOP-aligned outside groups have come in with about $9 million for Fischer.

Reports covering the final weeks of the campaign are still being compiled.

Fischer overcame Osborn’s campaign in the end by consolidating Republican support, especially in the rural 3rd Congressional District. Osborn beat her in the 1st and 2nd Districts.

Fischer has said Osborn got that close by muddying the waters about his political beliefs. She described him as a Democrat in sheep’s clothing, and some Democrats backed his bid.

Her campaign had no immediate comment about the new PAC.

This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/11/19/nebraskas-dan-osborn-starts-hybr...