Cindy Burbank Wins Senate Primary in Nebraska, but Plans to Drop Out to Help Dan Osborn

Cindy Burbank, a retired pharmacy technician who has said she is serving as a spoiler to clear a path for an independent candidate, won the Democratic primary race for Senate in Nebraska, according to The Associated Press.

Ms. Burbank is expected to later drop out of the race.

The unusual nature of the contest reflects the struggling Democratic brand in deep-red Nebraska, where many Democrats believe the best hope of ousting the Republican incumbent, Senator Pete Ricketts, is Dan Osborn, a former labor leader who is running as an independent.

They had hoped to keep their primary vacant, paving the way for a head-to-head match between Mr. Osborn and Mr. Ricketts. But those hopes were dashed when William Forbes, a pastor who has voted for President Trump and expressed anti-abortion views, entered the Democratic race at the last minute. He was also accused of being a spoiler.

Democrats have accused Mr. Forbes of being a Republican “plant” aiming to split the Democratic vote in November between himself and Mr. Osborn, which would guarantee a victory for Mr. Ricketts. Mr. Forbes has denied the accusation. The state party threw its support behind Ms. Burbank, a last-minute candidate, to thwart the alleged plot.

Ms. Burbank cheered her primary victory on Tuesday, saying — perhaps joking, perhaps not — that she hoped Mr. Ricketts would simply exit the race that night. “That would be such sweetness,” she wrote in a text message.

She said she was also “kinda disappointed,” because the speed of her victory over Mr. Forbes — the race was called six minutes after polls closed, with her leading 90 percent to 10 percent — had taken “all the fun out of it.”

But she recommitted to dropping her general-election campaign.

“I don’t wanna split the ballot,” Ms. Burbank wrote. “I have no expectations of being able to win in November.”

Mr. Forbes, in a statement on Tuesday, bemoaned the result but urged Ms. Burbank to stay in the general-election fight — a request that is sure to cement Democratic beliefs that he wants Mr. Ricketts to be victorious.

“Cindy, do not drop out. Do not clear the field for Dan Osborn,” Mr. Forbes said. “Stay in this race and fight like hell.”

The primary featured other twists and turns. Republicans initially succeeded in removing Ms. Burbank from the ballot, arguing that she was not a legitimate candidate because of her overt plan not to serve. A court later reinstated her candidacy.

Democrats and Mr. Osborn were also accused of shenanigans. Republicans said the Democrats tried to meddle in a third-party Senate primary contest for the Legal Marijuana NOW Party, where a candidate faced allegations that he, too, planned to win the primary and then drop out to help lift Mr. Osborn.

Mr. Ricketts, who easily defeated a handful of primary opponents on Tuesday, seemed to welcome the challenge to his seat. “Our work is far from over,” he wrote on social media. “Out-of-state liberal donors are going to pour millions into Nebraska this fall.”

The Senate contest was not the only primary in Nebraska on Tuesday:

A key Democratic House contest was too close to call.

Democrats were also holding a highly competitive primary for a swing House district in the Omaha area now held by the retiring Representative Don Bacon, a Republican.

Late Tuesday, the race was too close to call between John Cavanaugh, a state senator, and Denise Powell, a political organizer.

Mr. Cavanaugh faced a series of unusual attacks from his opponents, who argued that his election could make it easier for Republicans to win the White House in 2028.

The argument stemmed from the way Nebraska allocates its electoral votes in presidential elections. Most states follow a winner-take-all approach, but Nebraska gives just two of its votes to the statewide winner, then gives one to the winner of each of its three congressional districts. In recent elections, the Omaha-area district has typically gone blue in presidential contests and awarded its electoral vote accordingly, even as the two other Nebraska congressional districts typically went to the Republican candidate.

State Republicans have tried to repeal the so-called blue dot system — named because Omaha is a blue, liberal dot in a sea of Republican red — but Democrats in the State Legislature have been able to block those efforts. Mr. Cavanaugh’s opponents argued that if he won the House primary and left the State Senate, it would mean one fewer vote to keep the blue dot.

Mr. Cavanaugh responded that the blue dot system was safe, and that other Democrats were likely to be elected to replace him in the State Senate. He also confronted attacks from a super PAC with ties to Republicans that spent against him.