Nebraska
Nebraska reaction to Biden-Harris decision focuses on 2nd District impact
LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Local efforts to keep the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District blue will have a new standard-bearer after President Joe Biden on Sunday announced he would not run for re-election and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the nominee.
Jane Kleeb, chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party, issued a statement Sunday expressing deep respect for Biden’s work and for his decision to step aside. Democrats are preparing for the national convention in Chicago next month. Nebraska is sending 34 delegates to the convention.
Precious McKesson, representing the state party and the local Biden campaign, said the party is waiting on the national rules committee to clarify the nomination selection process and working with Democratic National Committee lawyers on securing ballot access for the nominee.
“I don’t think it changes anything,” McKesson said of Biden’s decision. “I think it re-energizes. … Our delegates were already pledged delegates to Joe Biden. I am confident they will be pledged to Vice President Harris.”
Vargas-Bacon race impact
Kleeb said local partisans will be laser-focused on helping Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha win his competitive congressional race against Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon of Papillion and on helping the Democratic nominee for president win the state’s “blue dot.”
Biden won the Omaha area’s single Electoral College vote in 2020. Former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee, won it in 2016 and won Nebraska’s four other electoral votes in 2016 and 2020.
The 2nd District has been Nebraska’s most competitive for years, flipping between then-U.S. Sen. Barack Obama in 2008 to Mitt Romney in 2012.
Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and the Nebraska Republican Party want to switch the GOP-leaning state to winner-take-all as soon as a special session this summer if he can find the votes. Nebraska is one of two states that awards an Electoral College vote to the presidential winner in each congressional district.
In a tweet overnight Sunday, the state GOP said “the figureheads may change,” but that the “radical agenda of the elitists behind these individuals who need public praise and recognition will not.” The tweet said the GOP must push a “positive” policy agenda.
Eric Underwood, the state GOP chairman, said Republicans “are all on the same page” with the national GOP, which has questioned whether Democrats risk angering their primary election voters and compounding their problems while Republicans rally around Trump.
Political observers say both the presidential race and the control of the House of Representatives could come down to the Omaha-area race. Vargas lost to Bacon by three percentage points in 2022. In 2020, Biden beat Trump in the district by six points.
Vargas, in a statement, thanked Biden for “his longtime leadership and honorable service.” He said his “selfless decision to step aside” will ensure the Democrats have a “strong nominee” who can win and serve the nation “capably” over the next four years.
“Our greatest imperative this fall is to ensure we beat Trump,” Vargas said. “That’s why I will support the Democratic nominee. The stakes of this election are incredibly high, with the risk of a second Trump presidency doing incalculable harm to our democracy, rights and freedoms.”
Bacon, in a statement, said Biden made the right decision for national security to step down. Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general, said the last presidential debate showed Americans that Biden was no longer up to serving as commander in chief.
“Unfortunately, Father Time always wins in the end, and it will happen to all of us at some point,” Bacon said in a post on the social media network X.
He also criticized Vargas for waiting so long to comment on Biden after the debate.
Love, Ricketts, Osborn weigh in
Preston Love Jr., the Democratic nominee running against Republican U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, issued a statement commending Biden for his “many years of public service.” He said he looked forward to “strongly supporting Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee” for president.
“Our focus must continue to be on preventing Donald Trump and his enablers … from winning in November,” Love said. “A second Donald Trump presidency would be devastating to our most vulnerable communities. Now is the time for us to come together and find a path to victory.”
Ricketts, in a statement, said only one choice, Trump, will lead to “security and prosperity for American citizens, and that’s a Trump-Vance administration.” He stressed Harris’ role as the Biden administration’s point person on border security and said she pushed for “terrible policies.”
“The strength of the Trump-Vance ticket has never been more evident than today,” Ricketts said on X. “Kamala Harris owns the Biden policies.”
Dan Osborn, a nonpartisan candidate for U.S. Senate against Republican U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, tweeted that he respects Biden’s decision. He said most Nebraskans want “honest leadership who will stand up to corruption regardless of party.”
Fischer’s campaign had no immediate comment on the Biden-Harris news.
A new old role for convention delegates
In August, 4,000 or so delegates from across the country will shift from having a largely ceremonial role, which was expected after Biden won the Democratic primaries, into a much higher-profile role of selecting the Democratic presidential nominee on behalf of their respective states.
Picking a presidential nominee was old hat for major party convention delegates prior to 1972, when the modern primary election system emerged. But Biden becomes the first presumptive nominee from a major party to leave the race after winning his party’s primary elections.
State Sen. Carol Blood of Bellevue is one of the delegates who will get to vote in Chicago. She is a candidate for Congress in the 1st District against Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood.
Her first national party convention is now expected to name a nominee, which she said has her “very excited” because of the number of “very qualified people who could step up to the plate.” She said she is hopeful that “maybe a woman could be one of them.”
“This is a whole new process,” Blood said. “It’s democracy at its finest.”
McKesson said the party hopes to have more answers Monday about the next steps for its convention delegates.
Could boost youth turnout
Retired University of Nebraska at Omaha political scientist Paul Landow, who cut his teeth helping with Omaha-area Democratic campaigns, said it is too soon to tell how Biden’s dropping out might impact the presidential or House races in the 2nd District.
Harris, if chosen, could help the party better motivate young people to vote this November, Landow and McKesson said. Landow pointed to recent polling that showed Trump faring worse against a younger, more progressive Democrat than against Biden. Trump still narrowly led, however.
McKesson said she hopes people will take a little time to thank Biden for his decades of work and for “what had to be a hard decision for him and his family.”
“I want everybody to think about what he has done,” she said.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nebraska Examiner maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Cate Folsom for questions: info@nebraskaexaminer.com. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and X.
Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2024 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Incoming Huskers attending New Student Enrollment this summer will enjoy a special lunchtime option: a Runza meal served as part of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s orientation experience.
The limited-time offering is the result of a collaboration between University Housing and Dining Services, New Student Enrollment and Runza. The goal is to welcome new students and their families with a taste of a beloved Nebraska tradition.
“This is a great way to introduce students to the Husker community,” said Jenni Brost, director of New Student Enrollment. “We are excited to have Runza on campus during orientation to help create a welcoming, memorable experience for students and their guests.”
The Runza meal will be available exclusively to NSE participants during designated lunch periods. It is being offered as a short-term guest vendor experience in support of the summer orientation program.
University Housing and Dining Services regularly explores creative partnerships that enhance campus programming and student engagement. This temporary addition reflects a spirit of hospitality and connection unique to the orientation experience.
“Our dining team often features pop-up specialty meals during the academic year, but this one is special,” said Lucas Novotny, executive director of Housing and Dining Services. “It is part of orientation, and it highlights a local favorite that resonates with our campus and the broader Nebraska community. It is a fun way to welcome new Huskers and make their first experience here even more memorable.”
For more information about orientation and campus dining, visit websites for New Student Enrollment or University Housing.
The Medical Cannabis Commission is charged with crafting rules and regulations so licensing of dispensaries can begin.
By Zach Wendling, Nebraska Examiner
A legislative committee on Tuesday reconsidered and favorably advanced a second Nebraska Medical Cannabis Commission appointee who had tied in a 4-4 vote last week.
In a quick meeting Tuesday, State Sen. Stan Clouse of Kearney flipped his opposition to Lorelle Mueting of Gretna, the prevention director at Heartland Family Service in Omaha. Clouse said he supported advancing Mueting’s nomination so the full Legislature could consider her appointment instead of keeping the nomination in the General Affairs Committee.
Had the committee not advanced Mueting by the end of the legislative session, scheduled to end June 9, she would have been added to the commission without a vote of the full Legislature.
The voter-approved Medical Cannabis Commission is charged with crafting rules and regulations by July 1 so licensing of medical cannabis dispensaries can begin by October 1.
Clouse said his original reservations came because Mueting didn’t have a “great” confirmation hearing Thursday. After she spoke, long-time medical cannabis supporters voiced concerns over Mueting.
That was contrasted with Dr. Monica Oldenburg of Lincoln, an anesthesiologist, whom Clouse supported in part because he wants someone with a medical background on the regulatory commission.
Both nominees eventually advanced 5-3, in a party-line vote between Republicans and Democrats.
Oldenburg stayed for the three-hour hearing. Mueting left after three invited witnesses spoke in favor of her appointment.
The appointees would need at least 25 votes in the Legislature to be confirmed. They would join the three members of the Nebraska Liquor Control Commission to comprise the new regulatory commission for medical cannabis.
Clouse said he wants to keep an open mind before deciding how he’ll vote on the appointments.
This story was first published by Nebraska Examiner.
Ohio Is More Than Doubling The Amount Of Marijuana That Adults Can Legally Buy Per Day
Photo courtesy of Chris Wallis // Side Pocket Images.
YORK COUNTY, Neb. (KOLN) — A York County woman faces several felony charges after using her daughter to sell Xanax and morphine, according to authorities.
Deputies arrested 36-year-old Shantell Perkins on Thursday. She has since been charged with possession of a controlled substance, using a minor to distribute a controlled substance and child abuse.
The sheriff’s office assigned a DHHS intake to a deputy on May 1. A teen told her therapist that her mother had been forcing her to deliver drugs for several years, and the authorities were alerted.
Perkins lived with the girl and two other children at a Benedict home, all three children have since been removed from her custody. Each child was forensically interviewed regarding the allegation earlier this month.
The children told deputies that Perkins regularly took pills — ranging between prescription hydrocodone, oxycontin, morphine and Xanax — an arrest affidavit shows. They’d commonly come home to find her unconscious, but she would later explain to them that she’d merely suffered a seizure, deputies said.
One child told police they begged Perkins not to take the pills while home alone, fearing “they might find her dead,” authorities wrote. A records check for calls for service at Perkin’s address showed authorities had been called to the home multiple times since 2022.
The teen described arguments with her mother often turning physical — getting whipped with a belt or a coat hanger or sometimes being backed into a wall. Deputies think the other two children may have suffered similar abuse, and they wrote that Perkins would often accuse her children of stealing her pills.
In the meantime, Perkins had been using the teen to deliver Xanax, morphine and other unidentified pills to multiple people over the years, according to the affidavit.
The deliveries began sometime in 2018 when the family lived in South Dakota, deputies said. The teen said she never got any money for the transactions, thinking the drugs had been paid for in advance.
According to court records, the girl delivered pills on at least 50 occasions between two communities in South Dakota, then in Benedict, York and Seward.
Authorities think Perkins would persuade the girl with promises of gifts for making the deliveries, and other times she’d threaten to ground the teen if she disobeyed.
Jail records show Perkins’ bond was set at 10% of $50,000. Her first court hearing is scheduled for Wednesday.
If you or someone you know is struggling with opioid or substance abuse, The National Drug Hotline and SAMHSA provide 24/7 resources to battle addiction.
The National Drugs Hotline can be contacted at 844-289-0879, and SAMHSA is available at 1-800-662-4357. More information on battling opioid abuse in Nebraska can be found at this link.
Click here to subscribe to our 10/11 NOW daily digest and breaking news alerts delivered straight to your email inbox.
Copyright 2025 KOLN. All rights reserved.
Detroit Tigers sweep San Francisco Giants with 4-3 win, improve to MLB-best 37-20 record
Southwest Airlines ends era of free checked bags as profit pressures mount
Arson suspect arrested in San Francisco’s Outer Richmond following suspicious school fires
FC Dallas Homegrown Diego Garcia Called into U.S. U19 Men's National Team
Miami man accused of sexually assaulting 8-year-old girl
-
News1 week agoMaps: 3.8-Magnitude Earthquake Strikes Southern California
-
World1 week agoPortuguese PM’s party set to win general election, fall short of majority
-
Politics1 week agoAfghan Christian pastor pleads with Trump, warns of Taliban revenge after admin revokes refugee protections
-
Politics1 week agoTrump, alongside first lady, to sign bill criminalizing revenge porn and AI deepfakes
-
Movie Reviews1 week agoReview | Magellan, conqueror of Philippines, as we’ve never seen him before
-
Education1 week agoHow Usher Writes a Commencement Speech
-
Politics1 week agoExpert reveals how companies are rebranding 'toxic' DEI policies to skirt Trump-era bans: 'New wrapper'
-
World1 week agoDigitisation fronts new Commission strategy to boost EU single market