Welcome to Raging Moderates. I'm Jessica Tarlov. And the midterms are just days away. And as we head towards this extremely important election, Republicans find themselves vulnerable in deep red places. And a handful of candidates are making races competitive that almost nobody expected to be. Today, we're spotlighting three of those candidates: Gina Orsa, who's taking on Greg Abbott for Texas governor; Dan Osborne, an independent challenging Republican Senator Pete Ricketts in Nebraska; and Brian Bangs, an independent running against Senator Mike Rounds in South Dakota. These candidates are taking very different approaches, but they share a belief that voters are ready for something beyond the usual political playbook. They're betting that issues like affordability, public education, corporate influence, and Washington's dysfunction can build coalitions that cross traditional party lines. We sat down with each of these candidates to talk about their path to victory, what they would fight for in office, and why voters should give them a chance. Let's start in Nebraska. Osborne is a Navy veteran, former industrial mechanic, and labor leader running as an independent in a state Donald Trump won by more than 20 points. He's betting that his independence from both parties and his focus on working-class voters can make this race competitive. Here's my conversation with Dan Osborne.
I am so excited to be joined by Dan Osborne, who is the independent candidate for Senate in the great state of Nebraska. Dan is a Navy veteran, former industrial mechanic and labor leader, singer, songwriter. We're going to get to that. And he is challenging Pete Ricketts in a state that Trump won by more than 20 points. The latest national poll that we got our hands on has you up one, 48 to 47. Dan, welcome back to the show because we talked last cycle, too.
Yeah. Yeah. Thank you. You're still, I'm not just saying this. You guys are the only show I still listen to podcast. I don't have a lot of time for podcasts.
No. Well, you've got to win a Trump plus 20 state.
So, let's start off by talking about what's going on in your race. I mean, you're one of these plot lines that everyone on the Acela corridor is saying like, is this, like, what is happening here, right? That you have a poll where you're up one, obviously within the margin of error. But Pete Ricketts is behaving certainly like he's in a tight race. President Trump's going to come. So tell us about what's been going on in your race.
Yeah, well, we're on a 93-county tour. We're doing this the old-fashioned way. We're getting out and talking to folks. I got 14 counties left to go here in the next two weeks. But yeah, it's been good. I'm honored to be doing this a second time to represent the people of Nebraska. It's a lot of hardworking, thoughtful people here in this state that care about their democracy, that's for sure. So I think that's why we're pulling ahead. People are sick and tired of the same old, same old. You know, especially now with, gosh, the Russia in the news and us aligning ourselves with a communist country fighting a democracy. This is crazy. It's craziness. So, yeah, I'm just excited to be doing it. And, you know, I want to talk about my song real quick.
Since he mentioned it, the backstory behind it is Ricketts came out with an AI jingle. You know, if you watch my debate, he called me Democrat Dan every 40 seconds during the debate. That's all he's got. And so we went in studio with Nebraska musicians and recorded a version of Johnny Cash's I've Been Everywhere, but Nebraska-specific towns, as kind of a rebuttal to his AI slop. So that was probably the most fun I've had doing this so far.
Well, it does seem like you guys are actually having fun all the time. And not just in the conversations that you're having with, you know, everyday Nebraskans, but in the kind of ad work that you're putting out there. And I've been very, very taken with it. And I want to talk about your pitch more, but let's just talk about these ads where you have not shied away from using AI in them.
I'm Pete Ricketts. 10 times. Nebraska, a great place to raise a family and an even better place for a family of several hundred thousand computers. Pete Ricketts, delivering our water to big tech and AI slop to your family.
Can you talk about, I guess, the impetus behind the type of ad campaign that you're running and how it's resonating with voters?
Yeah, we're just trying to be different. I think most of us are just sick and tired of the political ads. And, you know, Ricketts is outspending us 5 to 1. He's going to spend more on ads than we will have raised the entire cycle. And they're horrible and all they do is they're just attack ads against me. And so we're just trying to be different. We're trying to be a little bit more lighthearted and fun with it and still get our message out. I think that's how we've been successful in cutting through the noise of $50 million by being unique.
Well, one of them that certainly stuck out to me was a parody of, you know, Pete Ricketts loves data centers. And how much of an issue are data centers in your race? I mean, we're hearing this talking to candidates in Ohio, enormous in Texas. So, talk about that issue in particular.
Yeah, it's definitely in the top three. Every single town hall that I do, because Nebraska is ninth in data centers, and Ricketts has given over $800 million in tax credits to build here because they love our power because we have public power. So it's, you know, one of the cheapest in the country, and they love our water, and we sit on the Ogallala Aquifer, the largest body of fresh water in the world. It's 300 million years old. But the problem is there's parts of the Ogallala Aquifer that it's getting depleted six times faster than it gets replenished. And we got to protect that water source at all costs. So it is about putting guardrails, identifying no-go zones for data centers, and if they come into your community, they should be enriching the community that they come into, right? If they're going to come into your backyard, you should benefit from it.
Well, that's actually a much more nuanced position than I feel like a lot of folks are running on. We're talking about, I live in New York State. Kathy Hochul has a data center moratorium, which is something that is very popular, especially upstate. So, are you finding in the communities that you're talking to that they are more interested in a nuanced take on this because obviously it's a real concern that we could fall behind in the AI race if we basically say no to this overall?
Sure. Yeah. I think people just want transparency, right? We want to know, are they going to be good stewards of the land? Are they good actors? Are they bad actors? And as well as power. You know, they're building a hyperscale data center in Lincoln, Nebraska. It's going to take as much power to power 1.2 million homes. There's only two million people in Nebraska, right? So, and also, you know, in the AI realm, what are they using the data for? Are they using it to turn this into a surveillance state? Because privacy is on top of my mind all the time, or are we using it to cure cancer, right? Two very different things. So it is about transparency and being good stewards of the land.
You mentioned in your first answer about, you know, what you're hearing on the ground that people are talking about democracy and preserving democracy, and my threat reflex went up when I heard that because I know that people, and you're running as an independent, but I certainly know that plenty of Democratic candidates have lost elections talking about democracy. What are you hearing from the voters about the quote-unquote democracy issue? And, you know, how does it relate? I assume it's a straight line to the economy, right? That the country isn't working as it's supposed to. There's no, you know, check from Congress. No one is getting tariffs approved. There's no congressional consent to go into this war with Iran. Or are you actually hearing that people are saying, you know, Republicans are a threat to democracy and we're not going to have free and fair elections?
Yeah, it's definitely all intertwined with each other. You know, the war in Iran directly in real time affecting costs. Nebraska is a huge agriculture state. That's our number one economy. We're first in beef, we're third in corn, and we're fifth in soybeans. So it is a big driver of our economy and the war. If you're putting diesel in a John Deere or a Deere right now, you're rethinking all this. And, you know, we have a lot of military veterans in density in this state. Nebraskans serve their country, and I'm the same way. I've been through the Strait of Hormuz myself on an aircraft carrier four times. I served six months in the Persian Gulf, and, you know, my thoughts and prayers always go out to our service members that decide to serve in uniform. But yeah, there's a lot of us here in Nebraska that have served, and, you know, we see the grift that's going on. They don't try to hide it anymore, right? And you got to wonder why we're getting in bed with Russia. I can only speculate as to they might help some people try to win an election and meddle in our elections. But, you know, those are something that gets brought up every single town hall, you know, the cost of diesel driving up everything. For me, that's how I relate to folks. I've lived my whole life paycheck to paycheck. I've punched the clock. It's difficult, and we see folks like my opponent Pete Ricketts' family continue to get richer, while it feels like a race to the bottom for us. So people are motivated. People are, I guess, have a lot of rage, I suppose. A little play on words there, but yeah. So I think that's why we continue to pull ahead, and we're running our campaign like old-school Nebraska football in the '90s. We're just running up the middle and gaining one yard at a time.
I'm curious, you mentioned the soybeans, first in the country in beef. Two real hot-button issues that I think, you know, Brooke Rollins has certainly been failing to properly address for folks. How has Pete Ricketts been talking about those issues? Has he tried to create any distance between himself and President Trump? I know they're going to rally together, so obviously it'll be shoulder to shoulder. But what's his rhetoric like on those issues?
Yeah, he just says he's for the farmers, you know, and he touts his endorsements from the Farm Bureau. I've been endorsed by the Farmers Union, obviously. He's been a big part of the consolidation of agriculture in this state. You know, that's a huge problem. Private equity folks like Bill Gates buying up our farmland and consolidating it. The reality is bankruptcies for small family farms and ranches in 2025 is up 46%. It's going to double this year. There's 68 family farms that go bankrupt every single day in this country. And that's because we can't have a Congress to work together to pass a farm bill. Now we have tariff policy that closes markets. We cut USAID that closed markets. And now we have this war in Iran driving up input costs and fuel. And so the people buying these bankrupt farms are folks like Ricketts. And Nebraskans aren't dumb. And we know Nebraska is not for sale.
So, you're running, you're an independent candidate, and you've talked about how this is a different kind of independent candidate than the model that we have right now where, you know, Angus King and Bernie Sanders are Democrats. Like, they're independently minded Democrats, but they caucus with the Democrats. And you've said, I want to make sure that I get this right because I think it's very smart, that you're not going to caucus with either party. In fact, you'll caucus with everybody. How does that work in practice if you do get to go to Washington?
Yeah, I think every senator gets three committee assignments, two Class A, one Class B, and there's just going to be, you know, trying to navigate those waters, going and knocking on doors, forming relationships, and figuring it out. But, you know, the question I ask myself, you know, when I'm making these decisions is, am I better off, right? Is my health insurance any better, you know, in my 51 years of life? And the answer is no. So I think we're 250 years into this great American experiment of democracy. And it's time we continue it. And I want to challenge the entire system because I don't think the system works for me and my family. And there's a lot of folks that feel the same way. And in 2024, we came awfully close to beating Deb Fischer. We got 47% of the vote, and there's a lot of people that have taken notice and are doing the same thing, you know, because the way I see it, less than 2% of our elected officials from the beginning of this country have come from the working class. And so, you know, people are stepping up, ironworkers and firefighters and teachers and fishermen and all across the country, and veterans, to live by the words of Abraham Lincoln, a government by and for the people. I'm sick and tired of it being for corporations and the 1%.
How have you found voters are receiving your independent message? Because I mean, the brass tacks of how these committee assignments work, obviously they are controlled by parties. Yes, you will get your three committee assignments, but you might not get where you want to go necessarily, and obviously there are certain areas that are passion points for you. Can you tell me about, you know, how voters are responding to that independent-minded message and how you think you'll be able to finesse this to make sure that you get to the right places where you can bring the most benefit?
Yeah, the voters love it. You know, we have a very independent spirit in Nebraska. We have a nonpartisan unicameral, the only state in the union that does that. We have an independent spirit here, and the voters love it. The folks that talk about it the most probably would be the political pundits and certainly...
Sorry, guilty as charged.
Good. No, you're fine. You're fine. And the donor and the donor...
Call me out. I'm boring that way. Yeah. I'm like, well, how would this actually work? And you're like, just let me run my race, lady. Like, people like this.
No, it's all good. It's all good. It's definitely not the first time I've been asked about it. But, you know, when it comes down to the voters, yeah, they love it. Let's challenge the system, right? I think that's probably what got Donald Trump elected, right? He was somebody that seems a little bit different than normal. But what people are saying now is...
He seemed a little bit different than normal. I think that is the most polite way to put it.
Well, he came to Nebraska and campaigned against me, and I didn't even get a good nickname, you know. He could have, he just said Democrat Dan. I don't know about that guy. He's radical. You know, we got Jessica Tarlov. She's crazy. Maybe the crazies.
That's a very good impression. It's been interesting to see folks like Ken Griffin, who, you know, billionaire head of Citadel, comes out and says they shouldn't have done the tax cuts. We actually didn't have that kind of rope to be able to deliver on further tax cuts. And that it was an unforced error by the Trump administration. And you rarely see people with that kind of wealth, you know, hedge fund industry saying things like that. I'm curious, what's the main difference between this race and your race against Deb Fischer?
Yeah, sure. Certainly, my opponent's wildly different. He is the Lex Luthor of Nebraska, and his superpower being his money. But his favorabilities have always been underwater. I think mostly people are just afraid of him. This is, you know, he's made a living off of just dragging people's names through the mud to elevate himself. So there is a fear factor. And also, you know, we're at war and we were promised no new wars and we were promised a lot of things. We were promised Epstein files to get released. I know everybody says, 'Well, that's just, why didn't Joe Biden do it?' Well, you know, Joe Biden should have done it, too. But also, he didn't want...
It's an easy explanation. Yeah, everybody should have done it, right?
Yeah, he should have done it, but he didn't run off of it either. So I think that's one of the most important things that I want to do when I go to the Senate is we got to shake up the entire world order. And that's how we do it. We hold people responsible who are guilty of trafficking young underage women for their exploits. That's disgusting. I don't care if we're bringing down princes, prime ministers, and presidents, and billionaires and trillionaires. If you're guilty of the worst crime against humanity, you should go to jail. Plain and simple. You should have your day in court, of course, but go to jail. We need to hold the bad actors accountable for ripping us off, and there's a lot of opportunities to do that.
All right. Dan Osborne, congratulations on a great campaign already run, and good luck in the final sprint. Oh. I was toting my pack along a dusty gravel road with a high...
Yeah, you can find that song on my website, too. Osborne.com. It's always playing if you go to the website.
I love that. It's great mood music. And for those of you listening, watching, all the things, check out Dan's campaign, donate. He is being outspent by catastrophic levels and is still hanging tight with even a slight advantage, which is a testament to your campaign and your independent message at a time when the most unpopular things in this country are political parties. Dan, it was great to see you.
Thank you, Jessica. Good to see you, too.
Next, we head to Texas where Gina Orsa is trying to do something Democrats haven't done in more than 30 years.
Jess, Texas hasn't elected a Democrat statewide in more than 30 years. And Greg Abbott has won three consecutive terms as governor, but this year, Gina Orsa is making the race a serious contest. Orsa is a five-term state representative from Austin, a former school board president, a lawyer, and longtime civil rights advocate. The representative entered the race as an underdog, but she's tapped into growing frustration over school vouchers, public education, and the rapid expansion of data centers across Texas. A number of recent polls have her within just a few points of the incumbent Abbott, and some have her leading the race. She's also running alongside a slate of Democrats hoping to reshape the state's political landscape, including Senate candidate James Delerico. Gina Orsa joins us now. Welcome to Raging Moderates, Representative.
Great to be with you, Scott and Jessica.
So, let's bust right into it. You're suing Greg Abbott, Governor Abbott, over emails with Elon Musk that the state has heavily redacted. What do you believe Abbott is trying to hide? And what should Texans know about the relationship between their governor and the world's wealthiest man?
Right. So, your viewers know as a legislator, I have a statutory right to see whatever documents the state has. It's a legislative privilege, right? And I get this information, this data routinely when I request it, but this was blocked and it's hundreds of pages of redacted emails between Greg Abbott and Elon Musk. And we know that Elon Musk's business dealings are huge in Texas. And we know that the incentives and the taxpayer dollars he gets are also huge. To give some examples, he's received 1.6 billion or 1.7 billion dollars in property tax breaks for his Tesla business that he received shortly after he gave Greg Abbott $500,000 in a campaign contribution. He receives millions, tens of millions of dollars in just cash grants from the state for SpaceX.
This summer, the governor's office intervened in a broadband grant program to divert a $100 million grant to Elon Musk's Starlink. And then we just learned in breaking news Friday night that there is a draft agenda for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Agency, an agency all appointed by Greg Abbott, in which they plan two days after the election to sell our beach, our Boca Chica State Park to Elon Musk in South Texas. We know Elon Musk has applied to launch 456 rockets in a year to the federal government. He's applied for this. Every time these rockets launch, it feels like an earthquake in that local community where I am from. By the way, there is now just within the last year lots of eyebrow-raising interactions between the state and Elon Musk that people have a right to know about what is happening. It already looks really bad. I mean, the whole broadband program was shut down when this summer in a Senate hearing, senators who are Republicans were asking the head of the broadband program, 'How did this happen?' And even for Republican senators, that level of grift and unfair dealing was too much. And so they shut down the whole broadband program. This is broadband. These are broadband dollars that our communities need, especially in rural Texas where small businesses rely on this broadband to be able to operate, to function, right? And so we just have a system in Texas now that is so corrupted that it doesn't even function. And we have the world's only trillionaire who lives here and has a very cozy relationship with Greg Abbott. And I do believe that the people have a right to know what those communications are, and I, as their representative, have a statutory right to see them.
So just a quick follow-up and I'll turn it back to Jess. I think the notion that a representative who has traditionally received communications, government communications, I think the right to continue to see them is unassailable. There's precedent, there's justification, but a person who owns a large thriving business and controls it, playing one state off the other to get all sorts of gimmies and tax breaks. Quite frankly, Representative, isn't that just business as usual?
Well, this is a next level. I mean, 1.7 billion in property tax breaks again and communications that are kept secret. That does not feel like business as usual. Communications kept secret from a legislator who's entitled to them. That does not feel like business as usual. So, no, we are operating in a space that is not just business as usual, but it is a level of grift that we've never seen before in Texas. And that's saying a lot. I mean, this is a governor, just so you have context for the way he operates. He's given a billion dollars in no-bid contracts to his donors. He signs emergency executive orders once a month since 2020 to waive competitive bidding laws in the state of Texas. Texas is known by all who play as a pay-to-play state. We didn't used to be that.
