Deb Fischer Is G.O.P."s Best Bet in Nebraska Senate Race Brian Lehmann for The New York Times State Senator Deb Fischer on the Senate floor in Lincoln, Neb. LINCOLN, Neb. - Sometimes, she got her colleagues in the Nebraska Legislature to side with her by making assurances: "We'll get the people to help you get your bill through." Other times, she would sway them with incredulity: "You're not going to vote for this, are you?" And on other occasions, State Senator Deb Fischer would draw a line in the sand: "You can't be for this." The results were often the same - Senator Fischer got what she wanted. So as surprising as it was last month when Ms. Fischer defeated two heavily favored opponents to become the Republican nominee for Nebraska's soon-to-be vacant United States Senate seat, those who have followed her career say it fit right in with her record of determination and achievement. Now, Ms. Fischer, 61, is thought to be the front-runner in a general election against Nebraska's once-favored son Bob Kerrey, a former senator and governor who is hampered by the fact that he left the state for many years to live in New York. As such, Ms. Fischer suddenly represents one of the Republican Party's best hopes in its effort to regain control of the Senate. Ben Nelson, the Democrat currently occupying the seat, is retiring. We're going to win this seat. It's important for Nebraska," Ms. Fischer said during a brief interview in her headquarters here, where the flotsam of a campaign operation that was transforming from shoestring to big time was evident: pizza boxes, power cords, and books and papers scattered on plastic folding tables and on the tiled floor. "I'm a hard worker, I build consensus, I develop relationships with my colleagues," she added. I'm able to get things done. That Ms. Fischer is on the ballot at all is a remarkable turnaround for someone once considered a distant third in the race for the nomination against the favorite, Jon Bruning, the state's attorney general, and Don Stenberg, the state treasurer, who initially received strong Tea Party backing. Mr. Bruning spent more than $3 million - eight times as much as Ms. Fischer. But in the closing weeks of the race, Ms. Fischer gained critical momentum, winning the endorsement of Sarah Palin and benefiting from the $250,000 that the billionaire Joe Ricketts spent on ads attacking Mr. Bruning. In a legislative chamber where Republicans outnumber Democrats two to one, Ms. Fischer, who has embodied steadfast conservatism - opposing tax increases and advocating smaller government - is not known for reaching across the aisle, Democratic adversaries said. "She does not work the Democrats," said State Senator Steve Lathrop, Democrat of Omaha. She talks to the Republicans and gets them to vote, and if they don't vote her way, she's likely to not vote on something they want later on. Senator Danielle Conrad, a Democrat who is one of Ms. Fischer's regular rivals in the statehouse, criticized her for opposing bipartisan bills like one that would allow localities to change their sales tax rates and one to provide prenatal care for all women, including illegal immigrants. "Nebraska voters, my constituents, are sick and tired of the kind of dysfunctional politics that we see coming from Washington, D.C., and they want senators to act more in a nonpartisan manner," Ms. Conrad said. I don't know if Senator Fischer has the ability to do that. Mr. Kerrey's campaign has been raising similar questions. Ms. Fischer has boxed "herself in as somebody on the extreme side of the Republican Party who's not going to be able to broker a compromise," said Paul Johnson, Mr. Kerrey's campaign manager. Aaron Trost, Ms. Fischer's campaign manager, disputed that perspective. "Senator Fischer has a history of getting broad support for her bills," Mr. Trost wrote in an e-mail, citing as evidence a measure she pushed through this year to control the ability of cities to increase occupation taxes. Born Debra Strobel, Ms. Fischer grew up on a quiet dead-end street in Lincoln, in a sand-colored ranch-style house shaded by towering trees. Her classmates at Southeast High School recalled her as active and popular, as well as deep thinking and studious. "What makes her rise above other high school students, not only did she have some really good thoughts and ideas, but she also was able to convey them," said Carol Carlson, a high school friend.