Newsline

Elections , Newsline

Grassroots Effort in Nebraska Could Tip 2024 Election to Trump

Posted on Friday, April 12, 2024
|
by Shane Harris
|
12 Comments
|
Print

AMAC EXCLUSIVE

President Donald J. Trump greets guests on the South Lawn of the White House Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2020, prior to boarding Marine One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Md. to begin his trip to Michigan, Wisconsin, Nebraska and Nevada. (Official White House Photo by Joyce N. Boghosian)

Currently, Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the country that do not use a winner-take-all system to allocate their Electoral College votes. But if conservative activist Charlie Kirk and Cornhusker State Republicans have their way, that list could soon shrink to one – perhaps influencing the outcome of this November’s presidential contest.

Starting with the 1992 election, Nebraska began allocating one electoral vote to the winner of each of its three congressional districts, with the remaining two of the state’s five total votes going to whoever wins the overall popular vote in the state. In 2020, for instance, Donald Trump won districts 1 and 3, as well as the two at-large votes, but Joe Biden won district 2, centered on the city of Omaha.

Now, however, a grassroots campaign led by Kirk and supported by a number of conservative advocacy organizations are working to change state law to once again allocate all of the state’s Electoral College votes to the overall popular vote winner.

“Fly-over country has been insulted by the coastal elites for years. They’ve called you deplorables, clinging to your guns and clinging to your religion. Why on earth would we allow them to cling on to one of your electoral votes anymore?” Kirk said during a “winner-take-all” rally on April 9.

“If Massachusetts had a goofy electoral system where they were just the one red sliver of Massachusetts or California was giving [an] electoral vote to Trump, they would go into special session immediately,” he added.

Kirk recently spent several days on his radio show urging listeners to call and write to Nebraska Republican Governor Jim Pillen as well as GOP leaders in the state legislature to demand the change. Nearly 1,000 Nebraskans also joined Kirk at his rally in Omaha earlier this week.

Other conservative voices have also piled on, including popular talk show host Mark Levin. “Notice hardcore blue states never commit electoral suicide like this,” Levin said, referring to Nebraska’s system.

The pressure campaign quickly yielded results, with Pillen announcing that he was in support of changing to a winner-take-all approach. A spokesperson for the governor has said Pillen “is an enthusiastic supporter of winner-take-all, has been from the start, and will sign it into law the moment the Legislature puts it on his desk.”

Nebraska GOP Chairman Eric Underwood has also come out strongly in support of the change, saying that Republicans will “find a way to get it done.”

However, with the state’s legislative session scheduled to end on April 18, there is not enough time to pull the bill making the change to a winner-take-all system from committee and pass it. Accordingly, Kirk and others are urging Pillen to call a special session to pass the bill.

Currently, Republicans hold 33 of the 49 seats in Nebraska’s unique one-chamber legislature – just enough to break a Democrat filibuster in the event of a special session. However, intraparty bickering over unrelated issues, including tax and spending plans, is threatening GOP unity.

As reported by the Nebraska Examiner, “the question comes down to votes, and at last count, under peak pressure, legislative conservatives pushing for winner-take-all counted no more than 31 votes and at times as few as 29, depending on the timing of the proposed change.”

Despite the political challenges of passing the change before November, Kirk and others have remained optimistic, continuing to encourage Nebraskans to put pressure on their elected leaders to get it done. “I call this the Lazarus moment,” Kirk said at this week’s rally. “We’re going to bring this back from the dead.”

Nebraska’s decision on whether or not to change their system for allocating Electoral College votes could have dramatic implications come November. Under at least one plausible scenario, shown below, where Biden wins the swing states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin while Trump wins Florida, Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina, Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District would determine whether the Electoral College vote count is a tie (sending the decision to the House, where Trump would likely win) or if Biden has the necessary 270 votes to hold on to the White House.

Democrats have unsurprisingly opposed making the change, arguing that it is purely an effort to help Trump and future Republican nominees win the White House.

And indeed, that is the case. But as Kirk and others have persuasively argued, no blue states are rushing to give Republicans a voice in the allocation of their Electoral College votes. In effect, by keeping the current system in place, Nebraska Republicans are breaking with tradition and 48 other states to advantage Democrats.

With just a few days left in the legislative session, conservatives in Nebraska and throughout the country will be eagerly awaiting action from Pillen and the legislature.

Shane Harris is a writer and political consultant from Southwest Ohio. You can follow him on X @ShaneHarris513.

We hope you've enjoyed this article. While you're here, we have a small favor to ask...

The AMAC Action Logo

Support AMAC Action. Our 501 (C)(4) advances initiatives on Capitol Hill, in the state legislatures, and at the local level to protect American values, free speech, the exercise of religion, equality of opportunity, sanctity of life, and the rule of law.

Donate Now
Share this article:
Subscribe
Notify of
guest
12 Comments
Most Voted
Newest Oldest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Patriot Will
Patriot Will
6 months ago

Each state should have a presidential election where winner takes all. Otherwise, the Republicans are making it easier for the Marxist Democrats to sabotage the will of the people.

linda
linda
6 months ago

Charlie Kirk, KICK ASS!!!!!!!!!! You are very much appreciated!!!!!

Paul
Paul
6 months ago

Trump 2024!
Vote in person!
Fight Back against the leftist
Ideology!

Robert Zuccaro
Robert Zuccaro
6 months ago

Ask me the day after how it all came out! Until then, I’m not hopeful when Democrats actions show me “they are the law” and that law has bigger, better guns and manpower to carry them. And they aren’t hesitant to use them!

A Voter
A Voter
6 months ago

Cheating by the democrats could tip the scales for Biden, so moot point.

Stephen Russell
Stephen Russell
6 months ago

Heard about this from Charlie Kirk radio show in LA CA Bravo

Thinking
Thinking
6 months ago

The voting system is set up in such a way by the democrats no Republican can ever win. They nullified all the opposition votes. And still voters vote for the dems. By doing that they acquiesce to the destruction of America. From a republic to a dictatorship. The dems do not obey the constitution and rule by their own laws and mandates. Driving America into the ground and repopulating with criminals and people they can control.

anna hubert
anna hubert
6 months ago

As long as democrats are allowed to play with their own deck this game will not be a fair play

Randall L. Beatty
Randall L. Beatty
5 months ago

People need to vote in person that is the only way I vote. They need to watch the voting very close for cheating and arrest those responsible for the cheating and sent to prison not jail. We all know Biden and Harris are not popular and with all that is going on in this country we need a change in this country before there is no country left. The first what needs to be done is deportation of illegals in this country and to build the wall and hire more people to guard the border and watch for more drugs coming into this country and those sent to prison with no release for the rest of there lives.

Kirk the steer
Kirk the steer
5 months ago

There’s only two things in Nebraska and congress boy Kirk has bedded both lol

ActBlue logo
United States Treasury check and American flag. Concept of stimulus, economic recovery payment, tax refund. Federal government grant, loan, benefit and assistance
poland and germany flags on map with euros
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris takes the Oath of Office, being sworn in

Stay informed! Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter.

"*" indicates required fields

12
0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x

Subscribe to AMAC Daily News and Games