WASHINGTON — Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts of Nebraska won election Tuesday to the seat he was appointed to nearly two years ago. Ricketts, a former two-term Nebraska governor, defeated Democratic challenger Preston Love Jr., an 81-year-old longtime community activist in Omaha. Love had painted Ricketts -- one of the wealthiest members of the U.S. Senate -- as privileged and out of-touch with most voters. But Ricketts easily prevailed in the heavily conservative state. Ricketts will serve out the remaining two years of the six-year term left vacant by former Republican Sen. Ben Sasse, who resigned in 2022. The Associated Press declared Ricketts the winner at 9:00 p.m. EST.