OMAHA — Registered nonpartisan Dan Osborn held a town hall Saturday with California Democratic U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna, former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, and former Republican National Committee chair Marc Racicot.
Nebraska U.S. Senate candidate Osborn and the panel, which was moderated by former Nebraska Libertarian Party chair Rachael Nelson, took questions from the audience on such topics as transgender athletes, government reform, gun control and division in America at an event the Osborn campaign called “cross-partisan.” But incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts’ campaign questioned how bipartisan it was.
“I don’t know of many candidates running for office right now who can put a Libertarian, a progressive, a Tea Party guy, a Republican and a bunch of independents in the same room,” Walsh told the audience at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. “That says something.”
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Osborn said he hopes to have discussions that bring people around ideas everyone can agree on.
Walsh, of Illinois, served one term as a Republican U.S. House member and ran against President Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary. He became a Democrat in 2025.
Racicot served as RNC chair in the early 2000s and has been critical of Trump since 2016.
Khanna is considered a progressive Democrat.
The first question from the audience was whether Osborn would oppose a ballot measure that would constitutionally limit sports participation in public K-12 schools and colleges to teams of biologically male, female or coed students.
The former labor leader said the ballot measure is about “fear” that is meant to divide people.
“I just really do truly think that this is all designed to be divisive,” Osborn said. “I’m not playing that because I believe, you know, in the Constitution of the United States, and I believe in the Declaration of Independence. When the words, they say, ‘life, liberty, pursuit of happiness,’ full stop.”
Khanna, who is considering a 2028 presidential bid, said he is tired of a “Democratic Party that has thrown the trans community under the bus.”
“We need to stand up for the dignity of every person,” Khanna said. “Come on, give me a break. Have you ever been on a soccer field and seen the trans kid play? You think there’s some star athletes competing for the Olympics? This is the only thing they have for belonging.”
Nationally, Republicans have used transgender rights as a wedge issue against Democrats, specifically whether trans athletes should be allowed to participate in girls’ sports. Some Democrats running have tried to distance themselves from the issue or called it a distraction.
The Jeffrey Epstein files were brought up. Khanna said Osborn would “ stand with survivors and stand for justice” because he would support Epstein Files Transparency Act II.
Khanna helped push a House discharge petition alongside outgoing Kentucky Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie that forced a vote on the U.S. House’s Epstein Files Transparency Act. The Epstein Files Transparency Act II hasn’t gotten a vote yet, but Massie said it is two signatures short of forcing a floor vote.
Ricketts and Osborn have attacked each other regarding the Epstein sex abuse controversy. Osborn accused Ricketts of “voting against” the release of the Epstein files — but Ricketts did vote with the rest of the state’s federal delegation to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act.
Ricketts attacked Osborn over a canceled fundraiser with a longtime Democratic donor who was mentioned in an email in the Epstein files. The donor said “nothing pertaining to me in the March 2024 email” was true.
Other questions Saturday focused on regulating AI, reaching people disengaged from politics, and expanding the number of representatives in Congress.
Racicot said that to “save” democracy, people must keep working to support candidates like Osborn.
“(Osborn) believes in service to this nation and to the people he lives with, and he will serve not only the United States Congress. … He will also be involved in, I think, influencing the entire planet. So, don’t be afraid of this. It’s unique,” Racicot said.
The Ricketts campaign released a statement ahead of the event attacking the panel, saying it “completely unmasks Dan Osborn’s fake independent facade.”
Ricketts’ deputy campaign manager Max Oberg said in a statement that the media should ask Osborn if “he agrees with Ro Khanna that we should shut down Nebraska feedlots? And if he doesn’t, why is he campaigning alongside the radical Democrat who wrote legislation doing exactly that? Nebraska farmers and ranchers deserve an answer.”
Osborn didn’t take questions after the event. The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting has already started.
This story is provided by States Newsroom, a nonprofit state news network and Blox Digital content partner.
