Nebraska

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

Published

2 years 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.

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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

What Iowa coach Ben McCollum said after defeating Nebraska on Thursday

Published

8 hours 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

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

Published

20 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.

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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

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