Fischer had expressed confidence during the campaign that Nebraskans would reward her willingness to prioritize their needs, including agriculture and infrastructure, and would care less about quotes or national news.

On Tuesday, she said Nebraskans “are still voting for candidates who share their values.”

Her defenders had feared that her preference for working behind the scenes to draft and pass legislation, rather than spending more time promoting herself and her work, would align her with some Nebraskans who only get involved at election time concerned with politics.

“Nearly $30 million, that’s the amount of money out-of-state Democrats spent to buy a Nebraska Senate seat,” Fischer said. “It didn't happen. … They wasted their money.”

For several months during the election campaign, Fischer refused to recognize her opponent. She dismissed polls that suggested a close race as flawed and claimed her own internal polls showed a wide lead.

Late Tuesday, the race appeared headed for the narrowest margin of any Republican Senate candidate in Nebraska since 2000, as Republican Attorney General Don Stenberg lost to former Gov. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., 51% to 49%.

Osborn, an Omaha union leader known for leading the 2021 Omaha Kellogg's strike, struck fear into Fischer's campaign.

He did this largely by portraying himself as Nebraska's version of U.S. Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a gruff, blue-collar type interested in keeping Congress focused on kitchen table issues.

Until late in the campaign, Osborn avoided giving concrete answers to his views on many policy issues, saying he would rather hear more from Nebraskans about what they want.

He criticized Fischer for increasing her personal wealth while in office, describing her in ads and on the ballot as a typical politician beholden to the whims of her biggest donors.

The Osborn crowd went from upbeat as a live country musician swayed along to somber as more numbers arrived around 10:30 p.m., showing Fischer coming out on top for the first time that night.

At 11:50 p.m., Osborn appeared for the first time of the night to address a group of supporters who were still present after Fischer gave her victory speech. Osborn said his campaign changed American politics.

“What is clear tonight is that people across Nebraska and across the country are angry,” he said. “People are being let down by the status quo. I’ll tell you what, we really challenged the status quo, didn’t we?”

Osborn said his team showed that a working-class movement was possible across the country, “ordinary people willing to take a stand against corruption and demand a seat at the working people's table.”

“We knew it was going to be close,” he said. “Holy shit, what a ride.”

Fischer served two terms in the Nebraska Legislature before being elected to the Senate in 2012. Previously, she served on the Valentine School Board. Her family owns a ranch near Valentine. She and her husband moved to Lincoln.