Trump advocates for altering Nebraska's election legislation, engaged in a battle for securing a solitary electoral vote.
Recently, Trump reached out to Nebraska Republican legislators during a meeting with Governor Jim Pillen, discussing the possibility of overturning a 30-year-old law that assigns electoral votes by congressional district, instead of statewide winner-take-all. Past attempts to modify this law have been unsuccessful, both this year and in the past. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham from South Carolina visited Nebraska legislators to support Trump's viewpoint. During the meeting, Trump made a brief appearance, hoping to gain support and emphasize the significance of a single electoral vote from an Omaha-area congressional district.
This electoral vote could potentially tip the scales in the election against Vice President Kamala Harris. Even if Harris managed to secure victories in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, but failed to capitalize on other crucial battlegrounds, she would still require this Nebraska's 2nd District electoral vote to reach the required 270 votes to clinch the presidency.
Graham expressed his concerns, stating, "I hope the people in Nebraska will realize that this might boil down to a single electoral vote, and I strongly believe that a Harris presidency won't be beneficial for Nebraska. I also think it's detrimental to America's foreign policy interests."
In 2016, Trump won all Nebraska's electoral votes, while he managed to win four in 2020, with Joe Biden seizing the Omaha-area district. The Harris campaign has pooled substantial financial resources to try and reclaim this solitary electoral vote, with grassroots initiatives visible across Omaha in the form of yard signs bearing the blue dot, a symbol signifying hope for Democrats in a sea of Nebraska red.
Trump's televised address was measured, neither resorting to threats nor overly pressuring his audience. Although his campaign has largely ignored competing in Nebraska, some Republicans argue he should exert significant effort in attempting to win the vote, rather than striving to alter the existing law.
This development was initially reported by The Washington Post.
Eager to convene a special session of the Nebraska Legislature before the November election, Pillen specified his willingness to do so only if sufficient support was present. An earlier attempt to revise the law, peculiar to Nebraska and Maine, fell short this year.
“At this moment, I haven't yet received the concrete and public support from 33 senators to endorse WTA,” Pillen declared last week, referring to winner-take-all legislation. “If that changes, I will gleefully call for a special session.”
A minority of holdouts persists, with state Senator Mike McDonnell of Omaha, who recently crossed party lines to become Republican, yet to succumb to the persuasions to adopt a winner-take-all electoral system.
McDonnell's representative, Barry Rubin, told the Nebraska Examiner on Thursday, "Sen. McDonnell has heard persuasive arguments from both sides. And as of now, (he) remains opposed."
Democrats have pledged to thwart any late-stage attempts to modify the law before the November election.
“We're keeping a vigilant eye on whether or not it happens,” stated Tony Vargas, a Nebraska state senator contesting GOP Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd District, which is considered one of the nation's most hotly contested seats. “It's possible for things to shift right up until Election Day.”
Bacon and his colleagues in the state's federal delegation, all Republicans, reignited their push to change the Nebraska law this week, writing in a joint statement, "It's high time that Nebraska conforms to the winner-take-all system in presidential elections, as 48 other states have already done."
The Harris campaign and Nebraska Democrats have anchored their attention on any surreptitious alterations to the election law. The initial vote for the legislation fell short by 17 votes, during the legislature's regular session this year.
Nebraska Democratic Party chairwoman Jane Kleeb concluded, "Those 17 votes are rock-solid.”
“Both Trump and Harris have the potential to capture Nebraskans' votes," Kleeb told CNN. "Democrats take our responsibilities seriously, dedicating our time to canvassing, making phone calls, and placing yard signs, rather than wasting our efforts attempting to coerce elected officials, which seems to be the only strategy the Republicans have employed of late."
Trump reaped benefits from the election system in Maine, a blue state, securing a solitary electoral vote in both 2016 and 2020 despite losing statewide. Democrats remain skeptical about their chances of a Maine sweep, party officials claimed, compared to their prospects in Nebraska.
Boosted by impassioned advertising in the Omaha media market, the Harris campaign has computed a total expenditure of approximately $4.4 million since her candidacy was confirmed in July.
As we move forward, Democrats are anticipated to maintain an advertising advantage in Nebraska, with approximately $6 million in future broadcast bookings, according to AdImpact data. This equates to more than $1 million in airtime reserved for every week in the final phase of the campaign.
Relatively speaking, Republicans have made a negligible investment in Nebraska, with only $103,000 from the Trump campaign, according to AdImpact data.
CNN’s Alayna Treene, David Wright, and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
In the context of Trump's meeting with Nebraska Republican legislators, the discussions centered around politics, specifically the possibility of overturning a law that assigns electoral votes by congressional district. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also engaged in political debates, advocating against a potential Harris presidency and its implications for Nebraska.
