Nebraska Democratic US Senate candidate Cindy Burbank hasn’t dropped out of the race yet. Will she?

LINCOLN — Two months after Nebraska Democrats chose her as their U.S. Senate candidate, Cindy Burbank is still in the race, despite having hinted she may drop out to clear the field for nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn to challenge Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts in November. 

Burbank wins Nebraska Dem U.S. Senate primary, likely giving Osborn a clearer shot against Ricketts

In the run-up to the primary, Burbank wrote on her campaign website that she was running to give Osborn a “fair shot against Ricketts.” She told the Examiner and other outlets she would drop out of the race only if she didn’t have a clear path to victory in the general election. 

Since the primary, Burbank’s campaign for Senate has been quiet. While she has not announced any public campaign events, she has been campaigning for 1st Congressional District nonpartisan candidate Austin Ahlman. 

The deadline for Burbank to drop out of the race is Aug 3. If she does file papers to have her name removed from the ballot, there could be a legal fight. Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers told the Examiner in May that the Secretary of State had reached out for guidance on whether the state can refuse to remove her from the ballot.

As of Friday, the Secretary of State’s Office had not received any paperwork from Burbank’s campaign.

Burbank hasn’t responded to multiple messages requesting comment about the status of her campaign. Last month, at an event for Democratic Attorney General candidate Jocelyn Brasher, she sidestepped a question from the Examiner about her campaign plans, saying “because this is not my night … I don’t steal it from the campaign … from the candidate that I come to see.”

“Right now, I’m teaching classes and trying to get things [done]… that’s pretty much it,” Burbank told the Examiner.

Burbank made national political news in late May when she endorsed Ahlman over Democrat Chris Backemeyer in Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District race. The state party, which is supporting Backmeyer, has accused Ahlman of being a spoiler by running to split the vote in the race. 

Earlier this year, Burbank expressed frustration with Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb at an event for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District Democratic nominee, Denise Powell. She also hinted at tension between Kleeb and herself in a New York Times piece about the primary. 

Osborn told the Examiner on June 11, when he submitted signatures to be on the ballot, that he doesn’t know anything about Burbank’s plans and doesn’t “coordinate with them.” 

“Regardless of what she decides to do … We don’t coordinate with them,” Osborn said. “We’re just going to keep running our campaign as strong as we can.” 

Ahlman, who said this week he has gathered enough signatures to appear on the November ballot, told the Examiner that Burbank has been “an amazing supporter and friend.” 

“We hit it off immediately at the start of this campaign because she’s someone who cares more about the people of this state than partisan politics,”  Ahlman said. “She reminds me of my mom … she makes amazing enchiladas and cabbage burgers.”  

Burbank is active on Facebook, where she posts about state and national news. Her recent posts are about Ahlman. 

The general election is Nov 3.

Examiner Reporter Zach Wendling contributed to this report.