Nebraska's U.S. Senate general election will not feature a Democrat after nominee Cindy Burbank (D) withdrew on July 17 — the 17th regular or special U.S. Senate election we identified since 2000 with no Democratic candidate, compared to four with no Republican candidate. Two of those elections with no Republican candidates were due to California's top-two primary system.
Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen (R) announced he would remove Burbank's name from the ballot on July 21. This move makes Nebraska the first state since the direct election of U.S. senators began in 1914 to hold two consecutive regular or special U.S. Senate elections with no Democratic candidate.
In the May 12 Democratic primary, Burbank defeated William Forbes (D) 90% to 10%. On her withdrawal, Burbank said, "I've looked at the numbers. I won't be your next senator. So I have withdrawn my bid for U.S. Senate." The three remaining candidates running in the general election are incumbent Sen. Pete Ricketts (R), Mike Marvin (Legal Marijuana Now Party), and Dan Osborn (Nonpartisan).
