In an apparent attempt to avoid the locally toxic Democratic brand, Democrats in South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana largely rallied behind independent candidates for U.S. Senate. None of those independents beat their Republican opponents, and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Montana were the only three states in which a majority of counties voted even more Republican than they did in the 2024 Presidential election.
Dare I posit any causation amidst that correlation?
Nebraska’s Democratic party exec Jane Kleeb sees enough evidence to declare the independent experiment in her state over:
In both of Dan Osborn’s Senate campaigns, Nebraska Democrats kept their own candidate off the ballot to give the former union leader a clear shot. He lost to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer in 2024 by about 7 percentage points. Last week, he lost to Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts by a similar margin, 50.4% to 43.7%, according to unofficial results.
The day after the election, party Executive Director Precious McKesson told Nebraska Public Media News she stood by the decision to back Osborn.
…Still, [Kleeb] said the party is done backing independents for the Senate.
“I do think that the experiment with independents is over,” Kleeb said [Theodore Ball, “Kleeb Says Nebraska Is “Behind the National Trend’ as Democrats Gain Ground But Fall Short Statewide,” Nebraska Public Media, 026.11.11].
South Dakota has no Senate race in 2028. So hey, South Dakota Democrats, use that bigger statehouse caucus and whatever other momentum you can dig out of this year’s election to build your bench and recruit an unashamed Democrat to run hard for U.S. Senate in 2030.