Fox News Decision Desk projects Republican Deb Fischer holds Senate seat despite independent challenge

The Fox News Decision Desk projected that incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., will win re-election and successfully fend off a challenge from an independent candidate. 

Independent candidate Dan Osborn, a union leader and mechanic, sought to unseat the senator, accusing her of representing lobbyist interests rather than those of Nebraskans. 

No Democrat candidate was nominated to run in the Senate race. 

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Osborn, left, challenged Fischer's re-election bid, running as an independent. (Reuters)

Fischer was first elected to the Senate in 2012 and re-elected in 2018. With her latest win, she will serve a third term in the upper chamber. 

Some of the issues listed on Osborn's campaign website revolved around supporting veterans and workers and legalizing marijuana. He does not support any federal limit on abortion, per his website, and he backs what he called "reasonable gun safety measures," but reinforced his support for the Second Amendment. 

His candidacy had presented late warnings for Republicans, as top handicappers acknowledged some movement and loosening of the GOP's grasp on the election. 

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Fischer has served two terms as senator. (Reuters)

Both the Cook Political Report and Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics opted to shift their ratings of the race from "Solid" or "Safe" Republican to "Likely Republican." 

While Fischer and Republicans still enjoyed an advantage, the race was placed alongside that of Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., in each rating system, which was understood to be fairly competitive. 

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Dan Osborn, independent candidate for U.S. Senate, speaks during a news conference announcing he will not accept any party or political endorsements, May 15, 2024, at his Omaha, Nebraska, home. (Nikos Frazier/Omaha World-Herald via AP)

Sabato's Crystal Ball also ranked the Nebraska Senate race in the same category as Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, but Cook had moved the Texas match-up to a more competitive placement. 

However, some of Osborn's financial backers led to controversy late in the race. The candidate was supported heavily by two outside super PACs, which both received significant contributions from a controversial dark money group called the Sixteen Thirty Fund, which is operated by left-wing Washington, D.C., political consulting firm, Arabella Advisers.

The fund doesn't reveal its donors, but according to the website for billionaire George Soros' group, the Open Society Foundations, it has granted more than $75 million to the Sixteen Thirty Fund between 2016 and 2022. 

George Soros, billionaire and founder of Soros Fund Management, speaks during the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on May 24, 2022. (Jason Alden/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

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One of the PACs that supported Osborn had also received monetary support from Democratic megadonor and Vice President Kamala Harris supporter Reid Hoffman, who co-founded LinkedIn. 

Osborn reportedly pledged to create an Independent caucus if elected, rather than caucusing with Democrats or Republicans in the Senate. All the independents currently serving in the upper chamber caucus with the Democrats. 

Fischer's win prevented any potential threats to the Republicans re-taking the Senate majority in 2025. 

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.