Former Nebraska state Treasurer Shane Osborn picked up
the endorsement of Tea Party Nation Sunday in that state's GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
Osborn is running in a crowded field seen as the tea party's best hope to pick up a seat in the upper chamber since there is no incumbent in the race.
Most other tea party groups and leaders have lent their support to Osborn's opponent Ben Sasse, president of Midland University and former official in the George W. Bush administration.
"National groups certainly have the right to endorse who they want. In some cases, that might even be contrary to what some local Tea Party groups want. But to totally ignore the local groups and simply come in and anoint a candidate is simply wrong," said a press release announcing Tea Party Nation's endorsement.
Sasse has no track record as an elected official, the release said, adding that Sasse supported the expansion of Medicare Part D during his time in the Bush administration, "and some of his writing at least suggests he might be open to an individual mandate, like the one in ObamaCare."
The press release also quoted Osborn as saying he is the only candidate who has active in the Nebraska tea party movement from the beginning, speaking out against both Obamacare and the Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.
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recent poll showed Osborn running second to Sasse. Banker Sid Dinsdale is also seen as a threat for Osborn in the May 13 primary.
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