Nebraska Democratic Senate primary winner says she’ll drop out to support independent in general election

A Democratic challenger who said she intends to drop out of November’s race for the US Senate in Nebraska to clear the way for an independent candidate has won the state’s Democratic primary. Cindy Burbank ran against William Forbes, who Democrats contended was a Republican plant in the race, with the intent to drop out if she won. Forbes, a pastor who has voted for Trump and opposed abortion access , is currently registered as a Democrat. While the state Democratic party endorsed Burbank for the primary, it has backed Dan Osborn for the general election. Osborn, an independent, is seen as the best hope to beat the Republican senator Pete Ricketts in November. Burbank wants to clear the field to give Osborn and Ricketts a head-to-head matchup, she has previously said. And in the state’s second congressional district, known as the “blue dot” of Omaha and its surrounding suburbs political organizer Denise Powell beat out a crowded field of Democrats to face Republican Brinker Harding in November in a race where Democrats expect to pick up a seat in Congress. John Cavanaugh, a state senator, came in second to Powell. Cavanaugh’s opponents in the Democratic primary field pointed out that if he won the general election and left his legislative seat, it could jeopardize the state’s electoral college vote system and deprive Democrats of an electoral college vote. …