A political newcomer and union leader who tangled with one of North America’s largest food corporations – and won – is running for U.S. Senate as an independent, taking on a two-term Republican incumbent. 

Bloomberg News interviewed Nebraska’s Dan Osborn and offers insights into his motivations and policy priorities. 

Osborn, 48, told Bloomberg’s Work Shift that his background as a union organizer for the successful 2021 strike against Kellogg’s influenced his decision to challenge incumbent Deb Fischer, 72, for a six-year term in the U.S. Senate in the 2024 election. 

“I knew when we were on strike that Democrats would come out to the picket line without having to be asked or prompted,” Osborn said. “So I made it my mission to get Republicans out to the picket line. Congressman Don Bacon — I don’t want to have to toot my horn here — but he came out there because I was relentless in making this issue nonpartisan.”

A November poll found that Nebraska voters are open to Osborn’s independent candidacy, with 40% saying they would vote for him vs. 38% for Fischer. Nebraska voters are closer to Osborn on issues such as abortion rights and legal marijuana than to Fischer, a hard-liner who has threatened to withhold Department of Justice funding over marijuana enforcement and supported Senator Tommy Tuberville’s blockade of military promotions over Pentagon abortion policy. 

“The first thing I want to do is make it easier for the everyday average worker to be able to unionize and to hold these companies accountable when they do anti-union activity,” Osborn said. “This should be a nonpartisan issue because it is about working families. To me, being in a union meant I could afford to be a homeowner, to own cars, to put money aside for my kids’ college funds, to have nice Christmases. That kind of sounds a little bit like the American dream.”

Nebraska voters are sour on Fischer’s bid for a third term after a previous campaign promise to serve only two terms. Osborn supports term limits for U.S. Senators. 

“I understand fully the backstabbing and the struggle for power, and people will do almost anything seemingly to maintain that power,” he said.