Description
Dan Osborn is running to become Nebraska’s next U.S. Senator, and he’s doing it from outside the two-party system. As an Independent challenging incumbent Republican Senator and former governor Pete Ricketts, Real Clear Polling rates Osborn’s race as a “toss up.” Osborn, a former industrial mechanic, union leader and Navy veteran, has cast himself as a populist outsider taking down the “billionaire Epstein class.” Republicans say he’s just a left-wing Democrat in disguise.
Zach Weissmueller asks what led Osborn to, in his words, “reject the notion of a two-party system altogether” and run as an independent. Osborn defends his “independent” label and distances himself from establishment Democrats and the “Democratic Socialist agenda,” which he calls “too extreme.” He also says he hopes to ally with libertarian Republicans like Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) to rein in mass surveillance and legalize hemp farms, and explains why he opposes some, but not all, tariffs. Other topics include how Osborn plans to balance the budget without touching entitlements, his concerns about data centers, his views on the Second Amendment and immigration, and his plan to enact mandatory age caps for federal lawmakers, Supreme Court justices, and executive branch officials.
https://reason.com/podcast/2026/10/05/can-nebraskas-dan-osborn-win-over-libertarians/
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0:00–Intro
0:50–Why is Osborn running as in independent?
2:02–Where does Osborn break from Democrats?
4:08–Osborn responds to leaked border wall comments
6:05–Democratic Socialists of America
7:53–Where will Osborn work with Republicans?
10:20–Ending the surveillance state
11:26–Protecting second amendment rights
14:10–The Iran War and War Powers Resolution
17:17–The national debt and spending cuts
20:56–Tariff policies
24:47–Data centers
26:27–Age limits on elected officials
28:08–Message for Trump voters
Producer: Paul Alexander
Audio Mixer: Ian Keyser
Illustration: Fatima Ruiz