This article was originally published by Nebraska Examiner on August 21, 2026. It is republished here under a CC BY-ND 4.0 license. Any views expressed are the author’s alone and do not necessarily reflect those of Independent Political Report or the Outsider Media Foundation. Title amended for clarity. Header image added by Independent Political Report. IPR encourages readers to support the author and publication by also visiting the original article.
Legal Marijuana NOW U.S. Senate candidate Mike Marvin announced he can’t put more “energy” into the Senate race because of health issues and endorsed nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn.
“For me, this has always been about defeating Pete Ricketts, and with my worsening condition, I know I cannot put in the effort this race requires,” Marvin said in a statement. “I will be remaining on the ballot, but I am now urging all who supported me to now support Dan Osborn.”
Marvin didn’t offer specifics of his health problems but said he retired from the Nebraska Association of Public Employees in 2017 for the same reason. He said for anyone who believes “in the cause of the Legal Marijuana Now Party, the choice in this election could not be clearer.”
“Dan has a real chance to beat Pete Ricketts in November if we all get behind him,” Marvin said.
This announcement comes hours after reporting from the Flatwater Free Press that two Osborn-paid staffers of the 2024 campaign joined an effort to dissolve Legal Marijuana NOW last year. Marvin has been one of the candidates accused of being “plants” meant to help either incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts or Osborn. Former Democratic Senate nominee Cindy Burbank paid Marvin’s $1,740 candidate filing fee earlier this year. She dropped out of the race one day after the secretary of state verified Osborn’s signatures to be on the fall ballot.
Marvin has denied being a plant for Osborn – but his move will likely add fuel to those claims from Republicans.
He told the Examiner earlier this month that he never planned to leave the race. Legal Marijuana NOW Party officials said they have never interacted with Marvin. While Marvin is technically still on the ballot, the move might inch the race between Osborn and Ricketts to a “head-to-head” race.
Legal Marijuana NOW has been part of the twists and turns of this year’s Nebraska Senate race, as well as the 2024 race between Osborn and Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer.
The Nebraska Democratic Party is facing pending litigation over its effort to clear the field for Osborn, brought by William Forbes, another candidate who was accused of being a plant — a charge he has also denied.
Forbes was registered as a Republican until 2008 but has been a Democrat since, according to records obtained by the Examiner. The state Democratic central committee will vote this weekend on whether to fill a vacancy caused by Burbank’s dropping out.
Osborn, in a statement to the Examiner, said he appreciates Marvin’s support and wishes “him well on his health.”
“We hope to earn the support of the LMN voters and hope that we can represent their concerns well in the US Senate,” Osborn said.
Jessica Flanagain, a consultant for Ricketts, posted on Twitter about the news: “Shocking!”
The general election is Nov 3.
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