It’s possible. A situation in Nebraska unfolded similar to that in 1996. When Democrat then-Gov. Ben Nelson decided to run for the Senate with two years left on his term. At the time, his approval ratings were sky-high (he easily survived the ‘94 elections) at it was expected he’d easily hold the seat of retiring Dem. Sen. Jim Exon. Chuck Hagel, who had never run or held office before, was considered to be the desultory opponent for Nelson.
In a shocking upset, Hagel ended up defeating Nelson, with many of those in the state answering that they wanted Nelson to stay in Lincoln and not have the leftist Lt Governor Kim Robak succeed him in office. Flash forward 18 years later and Nelson & Hagel are both some of the most reviled political figures around (with both retiring from the Senate ahead of being defeated).
“It’s possible. A situation in Nebraska unfolded similar to that in 1996. ..”
Very interesting.