Nebraska
National, Nebraska Dems spending $80k on a Nebraska political staffer • Nebraska Examiner
OMAHA — National Democrats are investing some green in helping the Nebraska Democratic Party reach voters in and beyond the purplest congressional district in a red-led state.
The Democratic National Committee announced Monday that it will spend $40,000 to fund a political staffer who will work with national, state and local Democrats in Nebraska.
Jane Kleeb, the chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, said the Nebraska Democrats raised another $40,000 locally to pay the same staffer, who will help them with legislative elections in rural Nebraska.
“We now have enough resources to hire somebody full-time and make sure that they have resources to do organizing,” she said.
Rebuilding a blue party in red states
It is the latest step in a multi-year process of the DNC trying to help rebuild the party in rural states. This cycle alone, the DNC has spent more than $510,000 in Nebraska.
Kleeb has spent much of her seven-year tenure trying to persuade the national party to increase its annual support for state parties. Spending is up 25% since January 2021.
DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison has described this push as a 50-state strategy, fighting back against single-party GOP rule in largely rural states.
“Today’s announced investment in the Nebraska State Democratic Party shows that priority in action,” he said in a statement to the Nebraska Examiner.
“Nebraska Democrats have fought tirelessly to better the lives of Nebraskans and defend against Trump and Republicans’ extreme agenda,” Harrison said.
Helping in 2nd District and rural races
Much of the staffer’s time will be spent helping Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas in his Omaha-based 2nd District House race against Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon.
The new political organizer will work to help turn out Democratic voters in local and state races, particularly in rural races with Democrats down the ballot, the Democrats said.
The staffer also will help President Joe Biden’s bid against former President Donald Trump’s attempt to win back the single Electoral College vote that Biden won in 2020.
Nebraska, like Maine, awards an electoral vote to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each of its congressional districts. The statewide winner receives two more.
Republicans in the state’s officially nonpartisan Legislature want to shift Nebraska’s method of awarding those votes to winner-take-all, which would benefit Trump.
Democratic state lawmakers in Maine have said if Nebraska does make that change, they might cancel out the action by doing the same thing, which would benefit Biden.
A spokeswoman for the Nebraska Republican Party said Sunday that the Republican National Committee had not funded a Nebraska campaign staffer but that it could.
Both the Biden and Trump campaigns have started adding staff in the state as well.
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Nebraska
How Nebraska men’s basketball’s historic start to the season could end its NCAA tournament drought
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LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Britt Prince scored 20 points and Jessica Petrie added 17 for No. 25 Nebraska in a 78-73 win over Indiana on Thursday night.
Prince, who buried her 700th career point in the fourth quarter, scored 15 of her points in the second half after holding off a late surge from the Hoosiers (11-6, 0-5 Big 10) in the third quarter. Logan Nissley added 11 points.
Indiana went on a 14-1 run in the third to take the lead from Nebraska (14-2, 3-2) for the first time since the beginning of the game, leading briefly at 51-49. Indiana took a 1-point lead with 5:32 to play, but Nebraska scored 16 points over the final 6:14.
Shay Ciezki scored 31 points on 13-of-21 shooting for Indiana, her fourth time this season scoring more than 30 points. Zania Socka-Nguemen added 19 points and 11 rebounds. Maya Makalusky had 12 points. The Hoosiers shot 51% as a team from the field compared to Nebraska’s 42%, but have dropped their fourth straight game.
Up next
Indiana: Hosts No. 14 Iowa on Sunday.
Nebraska: Hosts No. 4 UCLA on Sunday.
___ Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP women’s college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-womens-college-basketball-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/womens-college-basketball
Nebraska
33 Nebraska senators urge Board of Regents to delay vote on $800M acquisition of Nebraska Medicine
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Thirty-two Nebraska state senators joined Sen. Brad von Gillern’s letter calling on the Nebraska Board of Regents to delay a vote on the proposed $800 million acquisition of Nebraska Medicine.
The letter, dated Thursday and bearing a total of 33 signatures from state senators, shared concerns about the proposed acquisition, including the lack of transparency to the public and the Legislature.
According to the letter, the regents’ Jan. 9 meeting agenda item summary indicates that the Board has “negotiated the final agreement over a series of meetings in the past 18 months”.
The regents will consider a proposal in which Clarkson Regional Health Services would give up its 50% membership in Nebraska Medicine. The deal would give full control of the health system to the University of Nebraska.
However, the letter said the public and Legislature have had little time to understand the proposal, its impact and any financial implications of the transaction.
“The University of Nebraska and Nebraska Medicine are two institutions of tremendous significance to our state, and any major changes to the existing structures must be carefully considered,” the letter stated.
Senators are asking the Board to delay the vote to “ensure all viable alternatives have been considered and until all stakeholders understand the impact of the proposal for the state” and the two institutions.
The Board of Regents meeting, previously set for Friday, will now be held Thursday, Jan. 15 at 9 a.m.
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