Nebraska

Nebraska change that could hand Donald Trump win is “50/50″—Lindsey Graham

Published

2 years ago

September 23, 2024

Nebraska change that could hand Donald Trump win is “50/50″—Lindsey Graham

Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham has described the chances of Nebraska changing how it hands out its Electoral College votes before November’s election as “50/50.”

Graham is among several Donald Trump supporters pushing for Nebraska to switch to a winner-takes-all system and recently traveled to the state to meet with GOP lawmakers to discuss bringing forward the change.

Currently, Nebraska divides up its five Electoral College votes by giving one to the winner of each of the state’s three congressional districts, with two votes going to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote statewide.

The change to the system—giving the winner of the statewide popular vote all its Electoral College votes—could have a major impact on the neck-and-neck race between Kamala Harris and the former president. The vice president is currently expected to get one Electoral College vote by winning Nebraska’s 2nd congressional district, as President Joe Biden did in 2020.

In this scenario, Harris could reach 270 Electoral College votes by just winning the three so-called “blue wall” battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan, barring any shock results elsewhere in November.

If Trump were to win all of Nebraska’s five Electoral College votes in a winner-takes-all system, as well as the swing states of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, the election would end in a 269-269 tie. In that scenario, the president would be chosen by the GOP-controlled House of Representatives, which favors Trump.

Senator Lindsey Graham on July 31, 2024, in Washington, D.C. Graham described the chances of Nebraska changing how it hands out Electoral College as “50/50.”

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

Speaking to NBC’s Meet the Press, Graham discussed the likelihood of Nebraska voting to change to a winner-takes-all system, noting the importance of such a change in the 2024 race.

“It is a very close election. 63 days ago, [Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer led a coup to overthrow Joe Biden, and he’s telling me, or any other Republican, what we should be doing,” Graham said.

“If they change the law in Nebraska, it won’t be on the phone in the middle of the night. It will be through a democratic process. The entire federal delegation of Nebraska, House members and two senators, want this change.

“To my friends in Nebraska, that one electoral vote could be the difference between Harris being president or not, and she’s a disaster for Nebraska and the world,” Graham said.

Host Kristen Welker pushed back on claims the Democrats ran a “coup” against Biden, who ended his reelection campaign in July in the wake of his poor performance at the CNN presidential debate, as the party has a “right to change” who’s at the top of the ticket.

In response, Graham said, “So does Nebraska.”

When asked what he believes are the chances of such a change taking place, Graham replied, “50/50, down to two people.”

Nebraska State Senator Mike McDonnell of Omaha, who switched from Democrat to Republican in April, recently said he is against switching to a winner-takes-all system.

Graham’s office has been contacted for comment via email.

Nebraska, a GOP stronghold, changed its Electoral College system for the 1992 presidential election. Maine, a historically blue state, is the only other state not to implement a winner-takes-all system in presidential elections.

The five Republicans who represent Nebraska in Congress support a move to a winner-takes-all system.

Nebrask’s Republican Governor Jim Pillen said he would call a special session to vote on a change if he has the required support from 33 Republican state senators to break the filibuster threshold.

In a statement, the Nebraska Democratic Party said that voters “don’t need out-of-state interests to come in and tell us to change the way we’ve been doing things for decades—especially when ballots have already been sent out.”

“We are proud of the state senators who have been consistent and steadfast in standing up for Nebraskans having a voice in our electoral process and will continue to do so,” the statement added.

Source link

Click to comment

Nebraska

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Published

20 minutes ago

March 27, 2026

Press Room

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Iowa coach Ben McCollum met with the media following his team’s 77-71 victory over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the Sweet 16. The Cornhuskers led by three at the half but Iowa was able to outscore Nebraska 34-25 in the second half.

Pryce Sandfort led all scorers with 25 points while shooting 8 of 13 from the field and 6 of 10 from the 3-point line. Bennett Stirtz led the Hawkeyes with 20 points and played for all 40 minutes.

Iowa shot 52% (27-52) from the floor, 43% (13-30) from beyond the arc and 83% (10-12) from the free throw line. Nebraska struggled shooting 41% (24-58) from the field, 34% (13-38) from the 3-point line and 91% (10-11) from the charity stripe.

The Hawkeyes’ head coach acknowledged that his team had a poor start but a great finish and said that his team will need to play better to advance beyond the Elite Eight.

Yeah, I think to start we weren’t fantastic to start. They had an elite game plan to start. They played with elite pace. They adjusted their defense quite a bit. I think a lot of people will talk about the rivalry. I was around it when I was in Iowa, you know, and grew up in Iowa and understand the rivalry and whatnot. It’s nice to have — I guess if you would a call it rival that runs such a class program.
I think Coach Hoiberg, they have got great kids. They completely turned everything around from the previous season, and they have absolutely nothing to hang their heads about or anything. I have the utmost respect for them, all their players, and especially Coach Hoiberg. Heck of a season. I know it’s no consolation, but we still want to beat ’em every time and they want to beat us every time.
But from and internal perspective, there’s not a lot of bad blood there. It’s actually a lot of respect. I was really pleased with our second-half performance. I thought we actually decided we were going to try — not try. They had a lot to do with it, but kind of. Yeah, they’re smiling over there because they saw me break my marker.
And I thought our kids did a good job of executing offensively in both halves. We spent a lot of time trying to make sure that we could score, and you saw the result of that. We didn’t defend. But we were able to score, so we were able to stay in the game long enough and then get enough stops and had some big possessions down the stretch. Really good program win for everybody, coaches, managers, everybody included.

Iowa advances to the Elite Eight with the victory. Nebraska’s season ends with a record of 28-7.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Source link

Nebraska

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

Published

12 hours ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen appoints Antonio Gomez to Racing and Gaming Commission

LINCOLN, Neb — Gov. Jim Pillen has appointed Antonio Gomez of Jackson to the Nebraska Racing and Gaming Commission, adding a longtime Siouxland business leader and public servant to the panel.

Commission members serve four-year terms and are subject to approval by the Nebraska Legislature.

Gomez launched Gomez Pallets in South Sioux City in 1983. He has since retired from daily operations, but last year the Siouxland Chamber of Commerce recognized him with the W. Edwards Deming Business Leadership and Entrepreneurial Excellence Award.

Gomez previously served on the Nebraska Commission on Latino Americans from 1981 to 2002. He also served as a Dakota County commissioner for 12 years and was on the Foundation Board for Northeast Community College.

Gomez’s appointment is effective April 1.

Source link

Nebraska

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

Published

1 day ago

March 26, 2026

Press Room

CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

The Nebraska Cornhuskers will face the Iowa Hawkeyes on Thursday in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. This is the Huskers’ first Sweet 16 in program history, while Iowa is playing in its first Sweet 16 since 1999.

Nebraska defeated Vanderbilt 74-72 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Iowa advanced after beating the defending national champion, the Florida Gators, 73-72.

CBS Sports reporter Isaac Trotter broke down Thursday’s Sweet 16 matchup. Trotter started by looking at the two previous matchups in this series.

These teams have played twice. Iowa won at home in a 57-52 rockfight. Nebraska returned the favor by winning at home, 84-75 in overtime, in another to-the-death brawl.

It’s no secret that Nebraska’s defense caused significant problems for the Iowa offense in the second game, and if the Hawkeyes are going to win the rubber match, Trotter believes that turnovers will be the key.

There are no secrets in the rubber match. Nebraska’s no-middle defense has given Iowa real problems both times. The Hawkeyes turned it over 20% of the time in Game 1 and 26% of the time in Game 2. That can’t happen in the third encounter.

CBS Sports believes that Iowa has the best player on the floor in Bennett Stirtz, but Trotter also believes that Nebraska’s defense is just too much in the end for Iowa.

Iowa has the best player on the floor, Bennett Stirtz, and can hurt Nebraska on the glass, but the Huskers get the nod because of this pick-and-roll defense. You have to be able to guard ball screens effectively to shut down Iowa, and Nebraska has been an elite pick-and-roll defense, rating in the 99th percentile nationally, per Synergy.

In the end, Trotter selected Nebraska as his pick. Should the Huskers advance to the Elite Eight, Nebraska would play the winner of the Illinois-Houston game. Nebraska-Iowa play in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 26 at 6:30 p.m. CT on TBS.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes and opinions.

This article originally appeared on Cornhuskers Wire: CBS Sports predicts Nebraska-Iowa basketball in the Sweet 16

Source link