An effort to prevent Donald Trump from losing a potentially crucial electoral vote in Nebraska appeared to fail on Tuesday after the state’s Republican governor indicated he does not plan to push through the necessary change in law before the November presidential election.
Gov. Jim Pillen said a proposal to change the way Nebraska distributes its five electoral votes does not have the two-thirds majority it would need to pass and become law in time. Pillen issued the statement the day after a Republican senator said he would not support such a measure before the Nov. 5 election.
Only Nebraska and Maine split their electoral votes, awarding two to the winner of the statewide vote and one to the winner in each congressional district. Republicans have carried Nebraska in every presidential election since 1964, but in 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the electoral votes for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District in the Omaha area, ousting Trump from the White House.
The former president appeared to have resigned himself for the time being to having to fight for a fifth electoral vote in Nebraska.
“I LOVE OMAHA, and won it in 2016,” Trump said Monday on his Truth Social media platform. “Looks like I’ll have to do it again!!!”
Republicans have only a slight voter registration advantage in Nebraska’s 2nd District, and 25 percent of voters are unaffiliated. Democratic President Barack Obama won his electoral votes in 2008.
Both sides see a scenario for that one electoral vote to determine whether Vice President and Democratic candidate Kamala Harris wins the presidency, 270 electoral votes to Trump’s 268, or whether the count is tied at 269 each. In the event of a tie, the U.S. House of Representatives would make the final decision; with each state having one vote, the situation would favor Trump.
One scenario is that Harris wins three of the seven decisive states, namely Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and Trump wins in the other states, namely Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said splitting the state’s electoral votes would ensure the outcome “truly represents the will of the people without interference.” She issued her statement Monday, shortly after Republican Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha said he would not reverse his previous opposition to the change.
“In this election and in the coming elections, Nebraskans will continue to lead by electing leaders at every level who stand up for the people and respect our spirit of independence,” Kleeb said.
Lawmakers are out of session and won’t reconvene until January, so Pillen would have had to call them into special session to make a change. He said he wouldn’t do that without clear indication that a measure would pass.
A bill would require an emergency clause to take effect immediately, and the state constitution requires a two-thirds majority for that, or 33 of the 49 votes in Nebraska’s unique, unicameral legislature. Supporters would also need a two-thirds majority to end a filibuster by opponents of the measure.
The 1991 law that split the state’s electoral votes was passed under the state’s last Democratic governor, Ben Nelson, in part to attract presidential candidates to a state they would otherwise have ignored. Republicans have wanted to return to a winner-takes-all system for years, but have failed to secure the two-thirds majority to make it happen.
Although Nebraska’s legislature is officially nonpartisan, 33 seats are held by self-identified Republicans. McDonnell identified as a Democrat but switched parties in April, citing the Democratic Party’s censure of him last year over his support for abortion restrictions.
McDonnell said Monday that it was too close to the election to make a change and that lawmakers should put an amendment to the state constitution on the ballot so voters make the final decision. Nearly 45% of voters in his district are registered Democrats and less than 26% are Republicans.
Trump said on Truth Social that a return to a “winner-takes-all” rule “would have been better and much cheaper for everyone!” He said McDonnell had “no reason” to block “a big, common sense Republican victory.”
Pillen said he and others “gave every inch of the field” in the effort to change, but that McDonnell’s opposition has thwarted it.
“This is a huge disappointment to me and the many others who have worked so hard to ensure that the voices of all Nebraskans are heard equally in this election,” Pillen said.
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Hanna reported from Topeka, Kansas.
