A Nebraska voter confronted independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, calling him a Democrat to his face and pressing him over comments in which he insulted Nebraskans. The exchange ended with a second independent Senate candidate, South Dakota’s Brian Bengs, storming off a podium to get in the voter’s face.
Osborn and Bengs were speaking with reporters alongside Bill Hill, an independent candidate for Alaska’s at-large U.S. House seat, when the Nebraska man interrupted. Bengs had just told reporters that if elected, he would caucus with Osborn as part of an independent bloc in the Senate.
“You’re lying,” the man said, telling Osborn directly, “Dan, you’re a Democrat.” He also raised a claim about Osborn paying his mother or wife. Osborn responded, “You can call me whatever you want,” prompting the voter to reply, “I would like a truthful answer for once.”
Bengs then left the podium, pointed his finger at the man, and got in his face. “That is exactly the problem!” he said, accusing the voter of wanting to label them as something they are not. He went on to lecture the man about civility.
The Hot-Mic Comments
The voter’s anger traces back to remarks Osborn made that were caught on a hot mic, in which he was heard mocking Trump-supporting Nebraskans. On the recording, Osborn refers to a “Billy Bob in fucking Red Cloud, Nebraska,” saying such a person believes he’s “on the winning team” even though “their lives probably suck so fucking” bad. He used similarly mocking language involving a “Mary Joe.”
When confronted about the remarks in a separate exchange, Osborn defended himself by saying, “Yeah, I cuss. I’m a sailor. What can I say?” When the voter told him, “You called Nebraskans fuckers,” Osborn cut the conversation off: “I’m done with you.”
Osborn had previously offered an apology to anyone offended by the comments, saying he was speaking to the economic pain many Nebraskans feel. He did not withdraw the “Billy Bob” and “Mary Joe” references themselves.
Alaska Candidate Wrongly Named
Bill Hill, the independent House candidate from Alaska, was standing at the podium during the confrontation but was not involved in the argument. C-SPAN’s broadcast identified the altercation as involving Hill rather than Bengs, misattributing the outburst to the wrong candidate.
Video of both the Thursday confrontation and the earlier hot-mic recording has circulated widely online.
