Dan Osborn, an “Independent Senatorial candidate,” was just caught lying after an InsiderWire exclusive video shows a confrontation with Osborn, after he was asked: 'Do you stand by your recommendation to Democrats to shut down the government, Dan?' Osborn answers: 'That was never my recommendation.'

However, a clip of an interview with Raging Moderates (timestamp 19:05) shows Osborn saying that Democrats should 'absolutely' shut down the government.

As a result, the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) has started a digital ad campaign that describes Osborn as a 'fake independent'.

Osborn has promoted himself as a tough, independent outsider, supposedly not influenced by party politics. However, he is heavily involved with the Democratic Party. In 2024, Osborn's campaign got $5,000 from Chuck Schumer's leadership PAC and a full-length donation from the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

Democratic national groups have spent close to $4 million in third-party expenditures to facilitate his campaign, while his campaign is managed by the same people who worked for Zohran Mamdani's progressive New York City mayor campaign.

Osborn also collects contributions through ActBlue, the Democratic Party's standard fundraising platform, which recently changed its terms to allow "independents" like him to access its donor network. The Nebraska Democratic Party has given him their full support, and two veteran Democratic operatives run his campaign. "Osborn's independent shtick is a mirage, " declared Sarah Conway, a Republican consultant from Lincoln. "He is Schumer's hand-picked candidate, simple as that."