Nebraska Senator Deb Fischer Hands Republicans Control of the Senate

Republican Senator Deb Fischer won her re-election Tuesday night, dashing Democratic votes that independent Dan Osborn would successfully oust her from office. 

Fischer won against the former leader 51.5-48.5 percent, with 72 percent reporting, according to the Associated Press.

Osborn, who led 500 workers at his Kellogg’s plant through a three-month strike to end a two-tiered benefits system and stop plant closings, led an impressive campaign against Fsicher, who has held the Senate seat since 2013. The Democratic Party did not field a candidate in the race, but given Osborn’s political views, his win was expected to be a serious setback for the GOP.

With Fischer’s victory, Republicans have secured control of the Senate. They currently have 51 seats to Democrats’ 42 seats, with seven seats still remaining to be called.

Osborn refused to seek an endorsement from any political party including the Democrats, citing his desire not to be beholden to the money or special interests behind them. “I want to be clear that I’m an independent,” Osborn told the Nebraska Examiner in May. “I want to stay true to who I am.”

Still, his pro-labor stances were expected to have him caucusing with the Democrats similar to Independent Senator Bernie Sanders.

“I hadn’t been a very political person until corporate greed came knocking on my door a few years ago, when I was president of my local union, and we went out on strike, at a time where the company was making record profits,” Osborn told Semafor in September.

With Fischer’s victory, Democrats’ hopes to retake the Senate comes to a sad end.