Nebraska US Senate candidate Dan Osborn apologized directly to residents of Red Cloud during a public town hall on Thursday, Oct. 1, after newly leaked audio showed the registered Independent using crude language to describe support for Republican candidates in rural communities.
“Billy Bob in f—king Red Cloud, Nebraska, who lives next to the f—king Trump store as you pull into town and is waving the flag, all he knows is that he’s on the winning team,” Osborn said in the leaked recording. “And that’s all they care about, because their lives probably suck so f—king bad.”
Immediately following the leak, Osborn didn’t deny being the speaker in the audio, telling CNN’s Dana Bash: “I don’t remember the context of this one particular conversation, but it certainly does sound out of character for myself,” apologizing and saying his comments were sparked by “anger” and “pain.”
Osborn’s wife, Megan, told the crowd in the Red Cloud Community Center that her husband would stay as long as needed to hear from attendees. The candidate ended up speaking and taking questions for about an hour.
Red Cloud is a town of about 1,000 residents located in the state’s south-central Webster County.
Webster has about 2,200 registered voters, roughly 1,600 Republicans, about 275 Democrats, and 334 registered nonpartisans. Only 760 voters participated in the May 2026 primary election. President Donald Trump won 82% of voters in the county in 2024.
Osborn, before about 50 residents from Red Cloud and neighboring communities, opened the forum by reading an email he received from a Red Cloud resident:
“Like many people who care deeply about this community, I was disappointed and frankly offended by your recent comments invoking Red Cloud and its residents,” Osborn read from the email. “I hope this might provide an opportunity for something constructive. Red Cloud is far more interesting, complicated, and consequential than the characterization suggested by [your] remarks.”
“That’s absolutely what my remarks did,” the nonpartisan hopeful responded, looking up at the crowd and recalling his background of military service and blue collar work—cultures known for vulgar language and crass manners of speaking. “I don’t have the mastery over the English language, as if I went to Yale Law School, but I do regret those words. And for that, I apologize to the people of Red Cloud. That shouldn’t have been said.”
The crowd applauded.
“I don’t feel that way,” Osborn continued. “I’ve done over 300 public town halls… And so I hear a lot of stories about how hard life is. And I shouldn’t have said it sucked, because it doesn’t. But it is harder right now. It’s definitely harder for me and my family.”
Despite the apparent warm reception of Osborn’s apology, a few attendees still probed Osborn further on his comments.
“I really appreciate you coming back and explaining,” said one woman from the crowd. “Sometimes there’s no explanations. But, also, I think all of us have an advantage in that we don’t have someone following us around with a secret mic trying to get a recording that they can put on TV. Something out of context.”
Osborn agreed, describing the leaked audio clip as a part of a wider context, edited down to amplify salaciousness.
Another woman, a local high school teacher named Tiffany, referred to the leaked remarks and asked Osborn: “We have seniors that will be 18 before the election. How can I go about telling them that you are the right choice to make?”
Osborn reiterated his background as a clock-punching, “knuckle-dragging wrench-turner” who refuses campaign donations from defense contractors, corporate PACs, AI developers, AIPAC, and pharmaceutical groups.
“That’s what my campaign has always been… getting money out of politics, campaign finance reform,” Osborn said. “We have to be accountable for our words, and we have to be accountable for our actions. And that’s what I plan on doing.”
Another woman asked Osborn bluntly: “Why did you dog on Red Cloud? Why did you say those words?”
Osborn acknowledged the absence of a “Trump-store” in the community and said the recording was taken “well over a year ago.”
“I said those words because I talk to a lot of people who are frustrated with all these policies of choice,” he continued. “Life is definitely harder. I should have chosen my words definitely better.”
“You should have,” the woman ad-libbed from her chair.
“Yeah, and I apologize for that,” the Senate hopeful said back. “I will continue to do so. But it comes from a place acknowledging it’s definitely getting harder for a lot of folks.”
Other topics peppered the town hall, including questions about the Second Amendment, veteran services, and property taxes. But Osborn addressed the controversy a final time in his closing remarks, apologizing again.
“Normally, on the shop floor, if your words hurt somebody, it’s usually one person. So I need to be mindful of what I say, how I say it,” he said.
Osborn is running to unseat Republican incumbent US Sen. Pete Ricketts in a race that has captured national attention for its stakes, fierceness, and contrast between candidates.
Voters will decide in the general election on Nov. 3.
