Nebraska

Trump allies make another push to change Nebraska's Electoral College law

Published

4 days ago

September 22, 2024

Trump allies make another push to change Nebraska's Electoral College law

A top Donald Trump ally is pressuring Nebraska Republicans to award all of their state’s Electoral College votes to the statewide winner, a late-stage rule change that could potentially help return Trump to the White House.

Nebraska and Maine are the only states that split their electoral votes by congressional district, and both have done so in recent presidential elections. In Nebraska, which is solidly Republican, that means one of the state’s five votes is competitive for Democrats.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., met recently with GOP lawmakers in the state to encourage them to make a change supported by the state’s all-Republican congressional delegation and Republican Gov. Jim Pillen. The change was discussed earlier this year but lacked the votes to pass. Now, with Trump in an extremely close race against Democrat Kamala Harris where every electoral vote matters, his allies are making another push.

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

Trump’s allies have been calling on Nebraska Republicans for months to make a switch despite a lack of necessary support in the state legislature. But there’s new urgency to their push with fewer than 50 days until the election and Trump and Harris locked in a tight race across several battlegrounds.

There is a plausible scenario where the election ends up being decided by the voters in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, a swing district in the Omaha area.

This year, if Harris wins the three so-called blue wall battlegrounds of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania while Trump wins the four Sun Belt battlegrounds of North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada, the result would be a 269-268 split in the Electoral College in favor of Harris.

Nebraska’s 2nd District, which went for President Joe Biden four years ago, could give Harris the decisive 270th electoral vote. Or, if Trump were to win, the election would end in a 269-269 tie. In that scenario, the president would be chosen by the House of Representatives, with each state’s delegation getting a single vote — a scenario that favors the former president.

The five Republicans who represent Nebraska in Congress urged their colleagues in the state to change the law in a letter dated Wednesday, saying “the state should speak with a united voice in presidential elections.”

Any legislative change would require Pillen, the governor, to call lawmakers into a special session. He said in a statement he would “enthusiastically” do so if he gets a “clear and public indication” that there are 33 votes in favor, the minimum necessary to pass in Nebraska’s single legislative chamber.

Nebraska Democrats have started showing support for the state’s electoral vote split with yard signs showing a blue dot on a white background, symbolizing their potential role of the metro Omaha district as an island of blue surrounded by Republican red in the rest of Nebraska.

Republicans currently control 33 seats in the Legislature but they are not united in support. One of those Republicans, state Sen. Mike McDonnell, recently switched parties but still represents a district that includes Democrats who oppose an Electoral College switch.

What to know about the 2024 Election

A McDonnell spokesperson told KETV in Omaha on Thursday that the senator “has heard compelling arguments from both sides, and as of today, remains a ‘no.’”

The system has long confounded Republicans, who have been unable to force the state into a winner-take-all system since Barack Obama became the first presidential contender to shave off one of the state’s five electoral votes in 2008. Biden in 2020 was the only other Democrat to capture Nebraska’s 2nd District electoral vote.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of a state senator’s name as Mike McDonnell, not McDonald.

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Nebraska

How to Watch Purdue Football’s Big Ten Opener vs. Nebraska

Published

6 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Press Room

How to Watch Purdue Football’s Big Ten Opener vs. Nebraska

Purdue’s football team is looking to get back on the right track this weekend after losing back-to-back games to Notre Dame and Oregon State. The Boilermakers open Big Ten play on Saturday, playing Nebraska.

The Huskers are also hungry to get back in the win column after suffering a heartbreaking overtime loss to Big Ten foe Illinois last weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know about how to watch and listen Saturday’s game between the Boilermakers and Cornhuskers.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

If you or someone you know has a gambling problem and wants help, call 1-800-GAMBLER.

Ryan Walters, Purdue: Walters is in his second season as the coach at Purdue, coming off a 4-8 campaign in 2023. Although Walters had stops as a defensive coordinator at Missouri and Illinois, he acknowledged that he met some challenges in his first season as the leader of a program. Throughout the offseason, Walters said he “learned a lot” in his first year with the Boilermakers. Walters’ second season has gotten off to a roller coaster start, with Purdue defeating Indiana State 49-0 in the opener and falling 66-7 to Notre Dame and Oregon State 38-21 in the first three games of the 2024 campaign.

Matt Rhule, Nebraska: Rhule is in his second season with Nebraska after leading the Huskers to a 5-7 record in the 2023 season. Known for his ability to rebuild programs, there was a lot of hype surrounding the 2024 campaign in Lincoln. Rhule’s team is off to a 3-1 start, with the lone loss coming to Illinois in overtime on Sept. 20. Nebraska’s calling card comes on the defensive side of the football but has made significant strides overall with quarterback Dylan Raiola running the show. Prior to his arrival at Nebraska, Rhule had stops with Temple, Baylor and a brief stint with the NFL’s Carolina Panthers. Rhule has an overall record of 55-51 across nine seasons in college football.

NEBRASKA AD SENDS LETTER TO BIG TEN: Nebraska athletic director Troy Dannen isn’t a fan of hosting Friday night games. He confirmed sending a letter to Big Ten commissioner Tony Petitti about it. CLICK HERE

BIG TEN WEEK 5 POWER RANKINGS: Michigan ran all over USC in a 27-24 win. Was Alex Orji the answer at quarterback all along? Can the Wolverines run through the Big Ten again? CLICK HERE

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Nebraska

Nebraska Soccer kicks off home portion of conference slate Thursday

Published

17 hours ago

September 26, 2024

Press Room

Nebraska Soccer kicks off home portion of conference slate Thursday

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Athletics Press Release) – The Nebraska soccer team (3-6-0, 0-3-0 Big Ten) is looking to bounce back after a four-match losing skid as the Huskers host a pair of conference foes in Illinois and #15 Penn State. Both matches will be played at Hibner Stadium, as NU faces the Fighting Illini on Thursday at 7:05 p.m. (CT) and the Nittany Lions on Sunday at 12 p.m. (CT). Thursday’s match will be streamed on Big Ten Plus, while Sunday’s game will be aired nationally on BTN.

Fans can purchase general admission and single match tickets to each game by calling 1-800-8 BIG RED or by visiting //Huskers.com/tickets.

Scouting Illinois

Illinois finished the 2023 season with a 6-8-3 mark overall and 2-6-2 record in conference play. The Huskers topped Illinois 4-2 to close the season, and Illinois didn’t qualify for postseason play.
The Fighting Illini are 4-4-2 on the season with quality wins over DePaul and Illinois State. After traveling to Nebraska on Thursday, Illinois will host Maryland on Sunday.
Head Coach Janet Rayfield is in her 23rd season at the helm of the Illinois soccer program. The winningest coach in Illinois soccer history holds a 230-179-45 career record, while totalling 104 conference victories.
Illinois leads the all-time series 8-6-0 between the two teams. NU has won the last three matchups.

Scouting #15 Penn State

In the 2023 season, Penn State finished 16-3-4 overall and made it to the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament but fell 2-1 to top-ranked Clemson.
Penn State has opened the 2024 season with an 8-2-1 record and six shutouts. The Nittany Lions face #18 Iowa on Thursday night before its matchup against Nebraska on Sunday.
Head Coach Erica Dambach is in her 18th season at Penn State and 31st season overall. With the Nittany Lions, Dambach holds a 282-94-30 record.
Penn State leads the all-time series between the programs, 7-3-2, dating back to 2011. Most recently, PSU topped Nebraska in 2023, 1-0.

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Would Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola be the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if eligible?

Published

1 day ago

September 25, 2024

Press Room

Would Nebraska QB Dylan Raiola be the top pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if eligible?

It is a down year to need a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft class, leaving some looking forward to the future with names like Texas’ Arch Manning and Nebraska Football freshman phenom Dylan Raiola.

With Manning going through some growing pains in his first career start for the Longhorns against Louisiana-Monroe, we turn our attention to the Cornhuskers and their dynamic playmaker under center. The multitude of arm angles he can throw from to manipulate windows is stunning. His ability to throw from multiple platforms is simply fun to watch. Most impressive, however, are some of the throwing windows he is anticipating well before receivers get out of their breaks.

As names like Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders, Texas’ Quinn Ewers, and Georgia’s Carson Beck fail to separate from the pack early on, it leaves us wondering what the landscape would be like if the NFL made an exception for Raiola. This poses the question: if Raiola was draft-eligible for the main event this upcoming Spring, would he not only be the first quarterback off the board but the first overall pick in the draft?

We can take this a step further as well. Even if Raiola were to wait to be removed from high school for three years before being able to head to the NFL level, would a general manager in the NFL use the first overall pick on the rights of Raiola to guarantee he would be on their roster in 2027?

His tools are rare. Rarer than Caleb Williams’ was last year. Raiola is a gifted and rare prospect who may earn the comparison to the quarterback he does the best to emulate on the field. Looking at the Carolina Panthers, who are multiple pieces away but still need a quarterback, there is a real chance they would pull the trigger on an opportunity like drafting the rights of the Nebraska Football gunslinger.

Raiola has better tools than anyone in this draft class, and in a league where quarterback reigns supreme, there is a strong chance that Dylan Raiola would hear his name called as the first overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft if he were allowed to enter his name into the pool of players.

This full conversation was posed in the latest episode of the Daft on Draft Podcast. You can find the full episode on Apple, Spotify, or on YouTube.

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