Osborn is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts, scion of a billionaire father who founded a financial firm that became TD Ameritrade. Ricketts, the former governor, was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Sen. Ben Sasse in January 2023—a week after current Gov. Jim Pillen, whose campaign raked in a $100,000 direct contribution from Pete Ricketts and roughly $1.3 million in Ricketts family-funded ad spending from Conservative Nebraska PAC, was sworn into office.