Republicans on Monday conceded defeat in their push to change how the state of Nebraska counts its electoral votes as a way to help Donald Trump beat Kamala Harris in November.
“Our governor had considered a special session of the legislature in order to make that change, but the votes aren’t there to do it,” U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer (R-Neb.) told reporters on Monday after a key Republican in the Nebraska Legislature announced his opposition.
“It’s over,” she said.
Trump and Republican members of Congress last week urged Nebraska Republicans to change their electoral rules just weeks before the November presidential election so that the state’s five electoral votes would likely all go to Trump instead of allowing one to go to the Democratic candidate based on how Nebraskans vote. Nebraska and Maine are the only states that don’t follow a winner-take-all formula.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a top Trump ally on Capitol Hill, even traveled to Nebraska to urge lawmakers to support the change, but the effort appeared to stall out after state Sen. Mike McDonnell (R) balked, denying proponents a filibuster-proof majority in the legislature.
“I have taken time to listen carefully to Nebraskans and national leaders on both sides of the issue,” McDonnell said in a statement on Monday. “After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change.”
The state’s 2nd Congressional District, including Omaha and its suburbs, has swung toward Democrats since Trump was elected in 2016. In 2020, President Joe Biden won the district and its one electoral vote by 6.5 percentage points. Recent polling of the district shows the Democratic nominee, Vice President Harris, with a similar lead over Trump.
Changing the way Nebraska awards electoral votes could potentially have a major effect on the presidential race. If Trump receives an additional electoral vote, as he likely would in a winner-take-all allocation, Harris would need to sweep in the Rust Belt states (Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania) as well as carry an additional Sun Belt state (Arizona, Georgia, Nevada or North Carolina) to avoid a tied election.
Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.) called the lack of support for the voting change “disappointing.”
“I’ll have to talk to the senator to see if he can change his mind, but until he does we don’t have the votes,” he added on Monday.
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