2026-03-30T09:00:55.749Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：安德鲁·卡钦斯基
发布时间：2026年3月30日，美国东部时间上午5:00
内森·霍华德/Sipa USA/美联社/资料图
在内布拉斯加州的参议院竞选中，一名支持特朗普、反对堕胎的牧师以民主党人身份参选。该州民主党支持一名独立候选人，并表示这名牧师是共和党安插的棋子。另一位民主党初选候选人则表示，自己参选就是为了阻止他。
这一不同寻常的局面搅乱了这个深红州的参议院竞选，成为对民主党非常规策略的高风险考验——民主党放弃自己的初选，转而支持独立候选人丹·奥斯本，以期击败现任共和党参议员皮特·里基茨。
奥斯本无需经过初选即可直接进入大选。
79岁的威廉·福布斯是来自内布拉斯加州农村的牧师，他在3月初的参选 filing 截止日前不久报名参加民主党初选，打乱了州民主党为奥斯本扫清参选障碍的周密计划。
为了反对福布斯，另一位候选人辛迪·伯班克也在最后一刻报名参加民主党初选，但她的参选资格遭到了州共和党和内布拉斯加州共和党国务卿的质疑。
在接受CNN采访时，福布斯表示自己曾多次投票给总统唐纳德·特朗普，但否认自己是共和党安插的棋子，坚称自己是终身民主党人。当被反复要求说出一位他曾投票支持的民主党人时，福布斯变得有些沮丧，表示民主党需要回归到约翰·F·肯尼迪总统执政时期所代表的“道德价值观”。
当被问及为何决定以民主党人身份参选参议院席位时，福布斯说：“我看到候选人名单上没有民主党人……我是唯一的民主党人，而民主党人却在支持丹·奥斯本。”
CNN获取
福布斯还告诉CNN，他在1月份参加了由内布拉斯加州共和党主办的领导力峰会。当被问及为何选择参加共和党主办的活动时，福布斯说：“我试图从所有人那里获取信息。”
“他们想要克隆人，而我不是克隆人，”福布斯补充道，“我独立思考，我是个自由思想者。”
福布斯在一段已发布到其现已删除的Facebook页面上的布道视频中提到了这次培训课程，该页面已被CNN审查。福布斯最近发布了一则通知，宣布将删除该页面，并鼓励人们继续收听他在教堂Facebook页面上发布的周日布道内容。
民主党初选将于5月12日举行。
“参选是为了欺骗选民”
民主党决定不推出本党候选人，源于奥斯本2024年出人意料的亮眼表现：当时他以独立候选人身份参选，在一场比预期更胶着的选举中输给了共和党参议员黛比·费舍尔，后者以约7个百分点的优势获胜，而特朗普在该州的胜选幅度约为20个百分点。
如今两年后，民主党再次支持奥斯本，希望通过团结的挑战者将这个席位纳入囊中。民主党需要在明年赢得4个席位才能掌控参议院。
如果内布拉斯加州的竞选势均力敌，哪怕是少量选票都可能起到决定性作用，这让民主党人担忧福布斯的参选可能会分流奥斯本的支持率。
“他参选就是为了欺骗选民，”内布拉斯加州民主党主席简·克莱布在一份声明中说，她称福布斯的竞选是“皮特·里基茨策划的分裂反对票的政治诡计”。
里基茨的竞选团队否认了这一指控，告诉CNN他们“在民主党初选中没有任何角色”。在一条短信中，内布拉斯加州共和党主席玛丽·简·特鲁姆珀告诉CNN：“我们目前不予置评。”
作为海军退伍军人和前工会领袖，奥斯本以民粹主义、工人阶级的纲领参选，既支持劳工权益和部分堕胎权，也支持持枪权和更严格的移民执法。奥斯本曾表示，如果当选，他不会与任何党派组成党团。“这就是独立的意义所在，”奥斯本的竞选发言人援引他的话说。
斯科特·摩根/路透社/资料图
民主党人认为，他是他们击败里基茨的最佳机会。但他们表示，福布斯的参选威胁到了这一战略。
“如果是两人对决，（共和党）需要有人来分流选票，”克莱布告诉CNN。
同样在最后一天报名参加初选的民主党人伯班克明确表示：她参选不是为了获胜，而是为了阻止福布斯。她曾表示，计划在大选中支持奥斯本，如果自己赢得提名就退选。这种坦诚差一点让她失去参选资格。
在共和党投诉后，内布拉斯加州共和党国务卿将伯班克除名，裁定她不是“善意”候选人，因为她曾承诺在大选中支持奥斯本。一名地区法院支持了这一裁决。伯班克提起诉讼，内布拉斯加州最高法院最终下令恢复她的参选资格。
克莱布告诉CNN，民主党将花钱支持伯班克，伯班克的竞选网站上有截图，据称来自福布斯现已删除的Facebook页面，显示他参加了里基茨的演讲和反堕胎活动。
共和党领导力培训
福布斯似乎没有竞选网站或活跃的竞选社交媒体账号。他向联邦选举委员会提交的文件将北普拉特的一家UPS商店列为竞选地址。州 filing 页面上列出的竞选号码直接转到语音信箱。
“我正在制作一个网站，很快就会上线，”福布斯告诉CNN，他表示想先看看民主党会怎么做。
CNN获取的福布斯已删除Facebook页面上的布道视频显示，他的立场更符合传统保守派事业。
在其中一段视频中，福布斯描述了自己在1月份参加了由内布拉斯加州共和党主办的全天领导力培训课程。他表示，该活动由弗吉尼亚州阿灵顿的保守派组织“领导力研究所”承办，该机构负责培训共和党候选人、活动人士和竞选工作人员。福布斯告诉他的会众，该活动“自然是由全国共和党资助的”。
在同一场布道中，福布斯警告“文化马克思主义”正在渗透美国机构，并抨击“黑人的命也是命”和“占领华尔街”运动。在另一段布道中，他称赞共和党州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯和克里斯蒂·诺姆通过了堕胎限制法案。
他在Facebook上的一篇布道将堕胎问题上的公众舆论归咎于“激进女权主义”和“左翼媒体”，而在另一篇布道中，福布斯称美国已经进入了一个“无法无天的时代”，其驱动力是“罗伊诉韦德案”的判决和将宗教逐出公共生活的决定。
在另一段布道中，福布斯称时任总统乔·拜登为“痴呆乔”。
在接受CNN采访时，当被问及投票历史时，福布斯变得有些沮丧。“你已经问了我三次我给谁投了票，”他说。
他说，最后一位代表他价值观的民主党人是约翰·F·肯尼迪。他告诉CNN，民主党需要回归到20世纪50年代和60年代的路线。
The Trump-voting pastor Democrats think could cost them a chance at a Nebraska Senate seat
2026-03-30T09:00:55.749Z / CNN
By Andrew Kaczynski
PUBLISHED Mar 30, 2026, 5:00 AM ET
A person organizes shirts at the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19, 2024.
Nathan Howard/Sipa USA/AP/File
In Nebraska’s Senate race, a Trump-supporting, anti-abortion pastor is running as a Democrat. The state’s Democratic Party — which is backing an independent candidate — says he’s a Republican plant. And another Democratic primary candidate says she’s running just to stop him.
The unusual dynamic has roiled the Senate contest in deep-red Nebraska, turning into a high-stakes test of Democrats’ unconventional strategy — skipping their own primary to back independent Dan Osborn, in their effort to defeat incumbent Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts.
Osborn can run straight to the general election without facing a primary.
William Forbes, a 79-year-old pastor from rural Nebraska, entered the Democratic primary just before the filing deadline in early March, upending a carefully coordinated plan by state Democrats to clear the field for Osborn.
To oppose Forbes, another candidate, Cindy Burbank, also filed at the last minute on the Democratic primary ticket but has had her candidacy challenged by the state Republican Party and Nebraska’s Republican secretary of state.
In an interview with CNN, Forbes said he’s voted for President Donald Trump in multiple elections but denied being a Republican plant, insisting that he’s a lifelong Democrat. Asked repeatedly to name a Democrat he voted for, Forbes grew frustrated and said the party needed to return to the “morality” it represented under President John F. Kennedy.
Asked why he decided to run as a Democrat in the Senate race, Forbes said, “I saw that there wasn’t any Democrat on the ticket. … I’m the only Democrat, and the Democrats are going for Dan Osborn.”
William Forbes is seen in this screenshot of a video, from his now-deleted Facebook page.
Obtained by CNN
Forbes also told CNN that he attended a leadership summit in January sponsored by the Nebraska Republican Party. Asked why he chose to attend a GOP-sponsored event, Forbes said, “I’m trying to get information from everybody.”
“They want clones and I’m not a clone,” Forbes added. “I think for myself. I’m a free thinker.”
Forbes referenced the training session in a sermon recorded on video that had been posted to his since-deleted Facebook page and reviewed by CNN. Forbes posted a note recently announcing that he was deleting the page and encouraged people to continue to listen to his Sunday messages posted on his church’s Facebook page.
The Democratic primary is May 12.
‘Running to trick voters’
The Democrats’ decision not to field a candidate stems from Osborn’s surprisingly competitive performance in 2024, when, running as an independent, he lost a closer-than-expected race to Republican Sen. Deb Fischer, who won by about 7 points in a state that Trump carried by roughly 20 points.
Now, two years later, Democrats are backing Osborn, hoping a unified challenger could put the seat in play. Democrats need to gain four seats to win control of the Senate next year.
If the Nebraska race is close, even a small number of votes could prove decisive, raising concerns among Democrats that Forbes’ candidacy could siphon support away from Osborn.
“He is running to trick voters,” Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said in a statement, calling Forbes’ campaign a “political maneuver engineered by Pete Ricketts to split the opposition vote.”
Ricketts’ campaign denies the charge, telling CNN it had “no role in the Democratic primary.” In a text message, Nebraska Republican Party Chair Mary Jane Truemper told CNN, “We have no comment at this time.”
A Navy veteran and former union leader, Osborn is running on a populist, working-class message, blending support for labor and some abortion rights with backing for gun rights and tougher immigration enforcement. Osborn has said he won’t caucus with either party if elected. “That’s what being independent means,” Osborn said, according to a spokesperson for his campaign.
Dan Osborn votes in the 2024 presidential election in Omaha, Nebraska, on November 5, 2024.
Scott Morgan/Reuters/File
Democrats believe he gives them their best shot at unseating Ricketts. But Forbes, they say, threatens to unravel that strategy.
“If it’s a head-to-head, (Republicans) need someone to peel off the vote,” Kleeb told CNN.
Burbank, a Democrat who also filed in the primary on the last day, has been explicit about her intentions: She is not running to win, but to stop Forbes. She has said she plans to support Osborn in the general election and drop out if she wins the nomination. That candor nearly cost her a spot on the ballot.
Following a GOP complaint, Nebraska’s Republican secretary of state removed Burbank, ruling she was not a “good-faith” candidate because she’d pledged to support Osborn in the general election. A district court agreed. Burbank sued, and the Nebraska Supreme Court ultimately ordered her reinstated.
Kleeb told CNN the Democratic Party would spend money to back Burbank, whose campaign website contains screenshots claiming to be from Forbes’ since-deleted Facebook page, showing him attending a speech by Ricketts and anti-abortion events.
GOP leadership training
Forbes does not appear to have a campaign website or active campaign social media presence. His Federal Election Commission filing lists a UPS store in North Platte as his campaign address. A campaign number listed on the state’s filing page goes directly to voicemail.
“I’m working on a website now; it will be up soon,” Forbes told CNN, saying he wanted to wait and see what the Democratic Party would do.
Video of sermons from Forbes’ deleted Facebook page obtained by CNN reveal someone more traditionally aligned with conservative causes.
In one, Forbes described attending the daylong leadership training session in January that he said was sponsored by the Nebraska Republican Party. The event was run by the Leadership Institute, a conservative organization based in Arlington, Virginia, that trains Republican candidates, activists and campaign staff. Forbes told his congregation it was “naturally funded by the national GOP.”
In the same sermon, Forbes warned of “cultural Marxism” overtaking American institutions and attacked the Black Lives Matter and Occupy Wall Street movements. In another sermon, he praised Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis and Kristi Noem for passing abortion restrictions.
One sermon from his Facebook blamed “radical feminism” and “left-wing media” for shaping public opinion on abortion, and in another Forbes said the country had entered an “era of lawlessness” driven by decisions like Roe v. Wade and the removal of religion from public life.
In another, Forbes called then-President Joe Biden, “dementia Joe.”
In his interview with CNN, Forbes grew frustrated when pressed on his voting history. “You’ve asked me who I voted for three times,” he said.
The last Democrat he says represented his values? John F. Kennedy. He told CNN the party needed to return to where it was in the 1950s and 1960s.
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