# Osborn holds roundtable with Omaha small business owners on inflation  
**Published:** 2026-06-09T23:54:48.000Z  
**Source:** [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/)  
**AI-generated:** yes (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001)  
**Canonical:** https://lincolne.news/article/osborn-holds-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners-on-inflation

OMAHA, Neb. — [Registered nonpartisan U.S. Senate candidate Dan Osborn held a closed-door roundtable Tuesday with small business owners](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/) at Pageturners Lounge, focusing on economic pressures facing local entrepreneurs in his heated race against [Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/nebraska-sen-pete-ricketts-fields-questions-on-iran-womens-sports-during-tele-town-hall/).

[The roundtable brought together a handful of business owners who identified inflation as the common theme hurting their operations, as rising input costs coincide with reduced consumer spending](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/). The Osborn campaign later shared details of the closed discussion to prevent participants from feeling pressured, though business owners spoke with reporters beforehand.

Phil Schaffart, owner of Pageturners Lounge, called small businesses the "backbone of America" and said he wants policies that help establishments like his maintain operations instead of struggling to pay bills. [Devin Munn, an owner of a downtown Omaha bar, said one of the big issues for small businesses in the city is "that LGBT and Hispanic communities are scared to be out in public," adding that fear is "killing our business right now."](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/)

Osborn said he has held 70 town halls since launching his 2026 campaign and noted that rising costs stemming from the Iran war are the top concern. He pointed to farmers experiencing increased fertilizer costs and other input expenses. The candidate's message centers on "breaking up monopoly power" and challenging industry consolidation that he said undermines true free-market competition.

"I believe in a free market. I believe in capitalism, but it has to be checked," Osborn said. "The fact that we have to break up industries that have consolidated, where a few controlled all of it...that's not a true free market."

[When asked about the Iran conflict during a Monday tele-town hall, Ricketts said the goal is "to get Iran to give up making a nuclear bomb."](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/nebraska-sen-pete-ricketts-fields-questions-on-iran-womens-sports-during-tele-town-hall/)

Osborn criticized political opposition research tactics known as "trackers," calling the practice "a crazy, crazy game." He told the Nebraska Examiner that [running for office has shown him politics is "corrupt," "frustrating," and "designed to be frustrating."](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/)

[National and Nebraska Republicans have vowed to keep Osborn from flying under the radar this cycle](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/07/26/team-ricketts-republicans-wont-let-dan-osborn-fly-under-radar-this-time-around/), in contrast to his 2024 race when he was largely ignored by U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer until late in the campaign. Osborn ultimately lost to Fischer by six percentage points.

Republicans have attacked Osborn as a "fake independent," pointing to support he has received from state Democrats. Osborn said he wanted to hold the roundtable because he is always seeking ways to "stand up for the little guy." He must gather enough signatures by Aug. 3 to appear on the November ballot.

## Sources

- [Nebraska Examiner](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/)
- [Nebraska Examiner - Nebraska Sen. Pete Ricketts fields questions on Iran, women's sports during tele-town hall](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/nebraska-sen-pete-ricketts-fields-questions-on-iran-womens-sports-during-tele-town-hall/)
- [Nebraska Examiner - Team Ricketts, Republicans won't let Dan Osborn fly under radar this time](https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2025/07/26/team-ricketts-republicans-wont-let-dan-osborn-fly-under-radar-this-time-around/)

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This article was generated by AI (claude-haiku-4-5-20251001) based on source material from Nebraska Examiner, enriched with 3 web searches. The original source is available at https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2026/06/09/dan-oborn-hosts-roundtable-with-omaha-small-business-owners/.