Trump rallies in Nebraska amid competitive Senate race, takes executive action seeking to lower diesel costs 

President Donald Trump rallied in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday, adding the deep-red state to his midterm campaign swing as Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts faces a competitive challenge from independent Dan Osborn.

At the rally, Trump signed an executive order aimed at lowering high diesel fuel costs that have dogged Republicans ahead of the midterms.

“I’m announcing another unprecedented step to bring down costs. For many years, farm vehicles, construction equipment and other off-road vehicles have used what is known as red-dyed diesel,” Trump said, “which is exactly the same as normal diesel but is sold tax-free for off-road vehicles and big trucks.”

“I’m going to sign a historic executive order to officially waive the off-road requirement and allow anyone to purchase tax-free red-dyed diesel for any reason,” he said, adding that the executive order should “ensure” the race for Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, both of whom he was campaigning for.

A recent Wedgewood poll found Ricketts leading Osborn, who is running as an independent but is backed by Democrats, by just four percentage points, within the margin of error. Although the Cook Political Report still ranks the race as “likely Republican,” polling increasingly suggests the race is competitive, and Trump’s decision to hold a rally in a state he won by 20 percentage points in 2024 indicates he is taking the race seriously.

Ricketts, who was appointed to the Senate in 2023 after Ben Sasse resigned, was Nebraska’s governor from 2015 to 2023. Ahead of the rally, Ricketts’ campaign manager Maximilian Oberg told Heartlander News that Ricketts is “working with the president to pass year-round E15 for Nebraska’s corn growers and ethanol producers.” He’s also working to ban stock trading by Congress members, “codify ratepayer protections so Nebraska families aren’t footing the bill for data centers” and “deliver a Farm Bill for our farmers and ranchers.”

The rally is the latest in a series of Trump campaign stops in red states including Oklahoma, Ohio, Alabama, and Texas, where he has often told his base to vote as if he is on the ballot as he tries to energize Republicans and protect the party’s narrow majorities in Congress.

“Just 29 days from now, Nebraska is going to defeat the radical left Democrats once again,” Trump said at the rally as he campaigned for Ricketts and other Republicans in the state. “Pretend I’m on the ballot,” Trump added. “We’ve got to go and win this.”

Republicans suggest Osborn is a Democrat in disguise

Osborn, an independent who has painted himself as a moderate who is not “beholden to either party” and will take on partisans in Washington, D.C., has come under fire for leaked tapes suggesting that could be further to the left than he portrays himself. In the tapes, he reportedly suggests the border wall is a “symbol of racism” and said Trump supporters’ lives “probably suck.”

Osborn, a union leader and Navy veteran, told Heartlander News he is running on similar ideas that Trump campaigned on in 2024.

“In 2024, the president campaigned on no forever wars, standing up to China, lowering the cost of groceries and securing the border,” he told Heartlander News in a statement. “I’m still running on that same platform two years later. Ricketts has abandoned those principles. He’s begging the party bosses to come save this election for him.”

The GOP disputes that Osborn is aligned with Trump.

“If given the chance, Democrat Dan would partner with Chuck Schumer to raise taxes, give freebies to illegals and let men in women’s locker rooms,” Republican National Committee spokesman Zach Kraft told Heartlander News. He said Trump and Ricketts have “delivered the largest middle class tax cut in history, secured the border and lowered violent crime to a 125-year low.”

The midterm election is Nov. 3, less than a month away.