Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a nonpartisan election analyst from the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, is shifting its rating of Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts’s (R) seat from “safe Republican” to “likely Republican” after independent Dan Osborn's entry into the race.

Sabato’s Crysal Ball associate editor Miles Coleman wrote in an analysis Thursday that Ricketts was “still a clear favorite for a full term,” but he noted Osborn, an industrial mechanic who lost to Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) last cycle by single digits, could benefit from a higher name ID this time around and a difficult midterm environment for Republicans.

He also noted the state........

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