2026年9月30日 美国东部时间7:00 / 福克斯新闻
在内因向亲属、尤其是妻子支付款项引发审查之际，内布拉斯加州联邦参议院候选人丹·奥斯本调整了其竞选团队的运作模式。
作者：亚历克·舍梅尔，福克斯新闻
内布拉斯加州无党派联邦参议院候选人丹·奥斯本就一段音频做出回应，音频中他似乎称特朗普支持者的生活“糟透了”。
上周，无党派参议院候选人丹·奥斯本多次称，受食品杂货和汽油价格上涨影响，他的家庭在经济上“勉强度日”，但联邦竞选财务记录显示，自他开启参议院竞选以来，其竞选团队已向家庭成员支付了超过50万美元。
9月24日在国会山新闻发布会上，奥斯本表示：“我的家人，我们现在正勉强度日，感觉每天都很难维持生计”，将原因归咎于经济状况以及食品和汽油价格上涨。
当天晚些时候，在接受NBC新闻采访时，他发表了几乎完全相同的言论，再次将自己的家庭描述为“勉强度日”。
此前曾审查过奥斯本竞选开支的政府道德监督机构“美国公共信托”估计，截至2026年第一季度，奥斯本及其家庭成员已从其竞选团队及相关政治行动委员会获得近48万美元。该机构告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，这一数字未包含奥斯本7月提交的第二季度申报文件中披露的额外开支。福克斯新闻数字频道对该申报文件的审查发现，向家庭成员的额外支付使总金额超过了50万美元。
内布拉斯加州参议员候选人疑似证实音频内容：特朗普支持者生活“糟透了”
其中最大一笔款项支付给了奥斯本的妻子梅根·奥斯本，她自竞选启动以来一直在为团队工作。竞选财务记录还显示，款项也支付给了该候选人的女儿乔治亚，奥斯本曾公开称女儿是一名兼职舞者，仍需要他人帮忙支付账单。他的女儿因从事活动筹备、竞选活动等工作获得了竞选团队的报酬，其他亲属及与其家庭相关的实体也同样获得了报酬。
在审查压力下，奥斯本的妻子退出了她持有股份的咨询公司，这些公司此前曾从奥斯本的竞选资金中获得数千美元，其中包括2024年竞选资金——尽管那场竞选早已终止。
“奥斯本一边挪用内布拉斯加州民众真正的财务困境叙事，一边和他的家人自竞选启动以来就靠竞选牟利，这实在太过虚伪。”美国公共信托执行董事凯特琳·萨瑟兰告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“他曾心安理得地利用竞选为自己的直系和旁系亲属谋利，直到被揭发后才仓促调整。内布拉斯加州民众不会被这种自私自利的行为蒙骗。”
民主党参议员因被指用竞选资金享受奢华生活面临司法部调查
今年早些时候，在美国公共信托向联邦选举委员会提起诉讼，指控奥斯本通过咨询公司网络和相关政治行动委员会将竞选资金转移给亲属后，奥斯本和妻子宣布调整妻子的薪酬方式。该诉讼指控这些支付行为违反了联邦竞选财务法，而奥斯本的竞选团队否认了这些指控，辩称相关款项是用于合法的竞选工作。
向家属支付报酬本身并不违法，但必须是用于真实的竞选服务。批评人士对奥斯本妻子及其他家庭成员的政治专业知识和背景提出了质疑。
作为调整的一部分，奥斯本的妻子退出了两家曾收取竞选资金的咨询公司——其中包括她持有三分之一股份的独立竞选有限责任公司，转而成为竞选团队的全职运营经理，按月领取薪水。
奥斯本当时对《奥马哈世界先驱报》表示，他的妻子对竞选活动“至关重要”，并表示他不会让政治对手决定竞选团队的运营人员。
但萨瑟兰认为，此次调整并未解决诉讼中提出的更广泛问题。
“在我们向联邦选举委员会提起诉讼，指控奥斯本违反竞选财务法后，丹·奥斯本才调整了向妻子支付报酬的方式。”萨瑟兰当时告诉福克斯新闻数字频道，“然而，关于他向女儿、姐夫以及两位嫂子的付款，以及他对两家联邦政治行动委员会的控制权，仍存在疑问。可以肯定的是，奥斯本可能改变了策略，但他试图将竞选资金输送给全家的行为仍难辞其咎。”
亚历克·舍梅尔是福克斯新闻数字频道的政治记者，原籍北卡罗来纳州夏洛特市，现居住在华盛顿特区-巴尔的摩都会区。
Senate hopeful’s ‘treading water’ narrative crumbles under $500K campaign payouts to family
September 30, 2026 7:00am EDT / Fox News
Amid scrutiny over paying his relatives, in particular his wife, Nebraska Senate candidate Dan Osborn restructured his campaign
By Alec Schemmel, Fox News
Independent Nebraska candidate for U.S. Senate Dan Osborn addressed audio of himself appearing to say Trump supporters have lives that “suck so f—— bad.”
Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn repeatedly said his family is “treading water” financially because of rising grocery and gas prices last week, but federal campaign finance records show his campaign has paid more than $500,000 to members of his family since launching his Senate bid.
Speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference on Sept. 24, Osborn said, “My family, we’re treading water here, and it feels like every day it’s hard to keep your head above water” because of the economy and rising grocery and gas prices.
Later that day, during an NBC News interview, he made nearly identical remarks, again describing his family as “treading water.”
Americans for Public Trust, a government ethics watchdog that has previously scrutinized Osborn’s campaign spending, estimates Osborn and members of his family received nearly $480,000 from his campaign and affiliated PACs through the first quarter of 2026. The organization told Fox News Digital that figure does not include additional campaign spending disclosed in Osborn’s second-quarter filing, which was filed in July. Fox News Digital’s review of that filing found additional payments to family members that pushed the total above $500,000.
NEBRASKA SENATE CANDIDATE SEEMS TO CONFIRM AUDIO CLAIMING TRUMP SUPPORTERS’ LIVES ‘SUCK SO F—ING BAD’
Dan Osborn speaks during a debate amid his run for a U.S. Senate seat in Nebraska.(Omaha World-Herald via Getty Images)
The largest share of those payments went to Osborn’s wife, Megan Osborn, who has worked for the campaign since its launch. Campaign finance records also show payments to the candidate’s daughter, Georgia, who Osborn has described publicly as a part-time dancer who still needs help paying her bills. His daughter has been paid by the campaign for work including event staffing and campaign activities, alongside other relatives and entities tied to his family.
Amid the scrutiny, Osborn’s wife stepped away from consulting firms she had a stake in, which were receiving thousands of dollars from Osborn’s campaign coffers, including from his 2024 war chest, even though that campaign was defunct.
“It’s rich for Osborn to be co-opting the real financial pain of Nebraskans when he and his family have been profiting from his campaign since it launched,” Americans for Public Trust Executive Director Caitlin Sutherland told Fox News Digital. “He was all too comfortable using his campaign to enrich his immediate and extended family and only hastily restructured when he was caught. Nebraskans know better than to fall for this type of self-serving behavior.”
DEM SENATOR FACES DOJ PROBE AFTER ALLEGATIONS OF SPENDING CAMPAIGN FUNDS ON LUXURY LIFESTYLE
(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)
Earlier this year, Osborn and his wife announced they were restructuring how she was compensated by the campaign after Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging Osborn had steered campaign funds to relatives through a network of consulting firms and affiliated political action committees. The complaint alleged the payments violated federal campaign finance law, while the Osborn campaign rejected the allegations and argued the payments were for legitimate campaign work.
While paying family members is not illegal, it must be for bona-fide campaign services. Critics have challenged the political expertise and background of Osborn’s wife and other family members.
As part of the restructuring, Osborn’s wife stepped away from two consulting firms that were receiving campaign payments—including Independent Campaigns LLC, in which she held a one-third ownership stake—and instead became the campaign’s full-time operations manager with a monthly salary.
Osborn told the Omaha World-Herald at the time that his wife had been “instrumental” to the campaign and said he would not let political opponents dictate who ran it.
Independent Senate candidate Dan Osborn chats with attendees after speaking during his campaign stop at the Handlebend coffeshop in O’Neill, Neb., on Monday, October 14, 2024. Osborn is running againt Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
But Sutherland argued the restructuring did not resolve the broader questions raised in the complaint.
“Dan Osborn only restructured how he pays his wife after we filed a complaint with the FEC that he was running afoul of campaign finance laws,” Sutherland told Fox News Digital at the time. “However, questions still remain regarding his payments to his daughter, his brother-in-law, and two sisters-in-law, and his control over two federal PACs. Rest assured, Osborn may have changed tactics, but he isn’t off the hook in his attempt to funnel campaign cash to his entire family.”
Alec Schemmel is a Politics Reporter for Fox News Digital who is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina but now resides in the Washington D.C.-Baltimore Metro Area.
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