Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn, an independent supported by state Democrats, distanced himself from Graham Platner and denounced allegations he helped recruit the embattled Maine Democratic Senate nominee.
But Osborn, who is running to unseat Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE), stopped short of joining the chorus of calls in the Democratic Party for Platner’s withdrawal after being accused of sexual assault by a former girlfriend.
“I have never recruited or supported Graham Platner, full stop. Our politics have nothing in common, and clearly neither do our values,” Osborn said in a statement. “I haven’t spent five minutes thinking about the Maine Senate race and neither have most Nebraskans, but I do know that Graham Platner should not be a U.S. senator.”
Osborn lost to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) in 2024 and is running another independent campaign that Republicans say is a de facto Democratic effort. Every other major Senate candidate running against Republicans in competitive states has called for Platner to withdraw from the race so Maine Democrats can find a new nominee.
Osborn’s remarks came in response to a newly published video showing an unnamed woman wearing an Osborn campaign shirt claiming that Osborn “recruited Graham Platner.” Osborn, who said the woman is a former campaign staffer, denied any involvement.
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“What she said is false, and she was not speaking on behalf of me or our campaign,” he said.
Osborn and Platner have overlapping political consultants and vendors but Osborn has repeatedly denied any connections or support for Platner. Still, Republicans have used the episodes to criticize Osborn for not condemning the latest sexual assault allegations against Platner sooner.