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A race that no one is talking about is threatening to upend Republicans’ high hopes to control the U.S. Senate after November’s election. Incumbent Deb Fischer, one of the 10 most unpopular senators in the country, according to Morning Consult’s July survey, is facing a stiff and unexpected challenge from an independent steamfitter named Dan Osborn, who is backed by the United Auto Workers and keeping his distance from the state’s beleaguered Democrats. While Osborn remains a long shot, he is likely to force Republicans to pour some money and resources into a race that they should have been able to win effortlessly as they try to capitalize on 2024’s GOP-friendly Senate map. And if Osborn wins, or even puts a credible scare into Fischer, his campaign could serve as a template for how to dislodge Republicans from statewide monopolies in places where Democrats have long struggled to compete.