Populist independent candidate Dan Osborn has lost his bid for U.S. Senate in Nebraska to two-term Republican incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer. The result helps solidify the GOP’s control of the chamber, which it secured for the first time in four years on Tuesday.

Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) narrowly defeated independent Dan Osborn in the Nebraska Senate race on Tuesday night, overcoming a surprisingly competitive challenge in an otherwise Republican stronghold. Fischer,

Recent polling suggests that challenger Dan Osborn's message that the Senate is run by the wealthy elite resonated with Nebraska voters. A close race is unfamiliar territory for Fischer, a two-term Republican representing a very conservative state.

Republican Sen. Deb Fischer of Nebraska has won her reelection bid over Independent contender Dan Osborn to maintain control of her seat in the U.S. Senate, Scripps News and Decision Desk HQ projects.

Osborn brought his campaign to northeast Nebraska on Wednesday, meeting voters in Wayne and South Sioux City before heading to Oakland and other towns tomorrow. The union welder, who is running as an independent, told voters he wants to bringing together people of all backgrounds, adding that the two-party system is getting nothing done.

Over the past few weeks, independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn has shaken up what many thought was a predictable race in Nebraska.

Even as outside polling shows a competitive race for U.S. Senate in ruby-red Nebraska, Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer remains adamant that her challenge from nonpartisan industrial mechanic Dan Osborn is a media-driven fabrication.