By
State
Nebraska
Office / race
U.S. Senate
Party
Republican
Reviewed
October 24, 2026

Career timeline

  1. Became Nebraska governorSource ↗
  2. Entered the U.S. SenateSource ↗
  3. Won the Senate special electionSource ↗

Seeking a full term in the Senate

Pete Ricketts — credited file portrait
Pete Ricketts, official archival portrait (2023).Photo: United States Congress · Source · Public domain

Pete Ricketts is the Republican incumbent on Nebraska’s November 3, 2026, Senate ballot. The official list also includes independent Dan Osborn and three minor-party candidates.

Sources: Nebraska secretary of state: final general-election candidates ↗

Education before the family business

Born in Nebraska City and raised in Omaha, Ricketts graduated from Westside High School. His official biography records a biology degree and an MBA in marketing and finance from the University of Chicago. He worked for Union Pacific before joining the family company that became Ameritrade, moving from customer service into progressively more senior management jobs.

Sources: Senator Ricketts: official biography ↗

Corporate leadership and investment

At Ameritrade, Ricketts held responsibilities in strategy, product development and marketing before serving as president and chief operating officer. His Senate biography also describes founding Drakon, a company supporting entrepreneurs and startups, and former board service involving TD Ameritrade and the Chicago Cubs. Those positions form the business-management component of the résumé he subsequently brought into government.

Sources: Senator Ricketts: official biography ↗

Two terms as Nebraska governor

The United States Senate chamber. Archival institutional context, not a photograph of this candidate.
The United States Senate chamber. Archival institutional context, not presented as a photograph of this candidate’s campaign.Photo: US Senate Photo Studio · Source · Public domain

Ricketts became governor in January 2015 and won reelection in 2018. His public-career chronology places those eight years between an earlier unsuccessful Senate campaign and his eventual appointment to Washington. As governor, he held executive responsibility for state administration; a senator instead participates in federal legislation, appointments and oversight as one member of a larger chamber.

Sources: Pete Ricketts: public-career chronology ↗

An appointment and a special election

Voting booths inside a Washington, D.C., polling station
Voting booths at a Washington, D.C., polling station on November 5, 2024. Archival election photograph; not a photograph of survey respondents. Archival context; not a photograph of this candidate or a 2026 campaign event.Photo: oscepa · Source · CC BY-SA 2.0

After Ben Sasse left the Senate, Ricketts was appointed in 2023. He won the 2024 special election and announced his bid for a full term in 2025. That sequence explains why he appears on the ballot again only two years after his previous Senate election: the earlier vote filled an unfinished term rather than beginning a new six-year cycle.

Sources: Pete Ricketts: public-career chronology ↗

A campaign shaped by economic concerns

Associated Press coverage in October placed Ricketts and Osborn in the context of President Trump’s Nebraska campaign activity and an announcement concerning agricultural diesel costs. The story illustrates how national economic decisions have entered the state’s Senate contest. Ricketts’s incumbent position gives voters a federal record to examine alongside his earlier years managing state government.

Sources: AP: Nebraska Senate race and Trump’s economic announcement ↗

Sources & original reportingSource publication or schedule date: Sources reviewed October 24, 2026Nebraska secretary of state: final general-election candidates ↗Senator Ricketts: official biography ↗Pete Ricketts: public-career chronology ↗AP: Nebraska Senate race and Trump’s economic announcement ↗

Prepared with AI assistance. Source-based reporting checked on October 24, 2026. This article does not update automatically. Read our editorial standards.