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Harris carries Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ while Trump wins statewide • Rhode Island Current

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Harris carries Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ while Trump wins statewide • Rhode Island Current


OMAHA, Neb. — Former President Donald Trump won Nebraska. But for the second straight election, he lost one of the state’s five Electoral College votes from the Omaha area.

Vice President Kamala Harris beat Trump soundly Tuesday in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, 54%-45% as of 11:30 p.m. Central. The district includes all of Douglas and Saunders Counties and parts of suburban Sarpy County.

That matters in this largely red state because Nebraska and Maine award a single electoral vote to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each congressional district.

Both states also provide two electoral votes to the statewide winner, votes toward the 270 needed to win. That left the presidential tally from Nebraska at Trump 4, Harris 1.

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But as many political observers told Nebraskans throughout the campaign, that single vote could prove pivotal as results come in from other states, particularly if the race is close.

Democrats and Republicans split the past four presidential elections in the 2nd District, with Democrats winning the district in 2020 and 2008 and Republicans winning it in 2016 and 2012.

Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said Nebraskans had sent a message that “when it comes to our freedoms, our families, and our future, we are not going to sit by and let others define us.”

“Voters in the Blue Dot spoke loud and clear to choose a brighter, more hopeful future, and we are proud to be a small but mighty piece of sending Kamala Harris and our Nebraska native Tim Walz to the White House,” Kleeb said.

Harris broke the logjam this year with a relentless pace of spending and staff time in the district that the Trump campaign did not match. Harris and her allies outspent Trump and his supporters on ads by millions.

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The Harris campaign funded a dozen campaign staffers in the district, versus roughly four for Trump. By contrast, Trump spent more here in 2016, when he won the 2nd District over Hillary Clinton. He also spent more here in 2020 when he lost it to President Joe Biden.

Harris sent more campaign surrogates to the district than Trump and sent her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, to Nebraska to host two major rallies. Walz’s wife, Gwen Walz, also hosted a rally here.

Trump’s running mate, Ohio U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, visited the 2nd District for a fundraiser and a brief stop-in with grassroots Republicans at a sports bar.

Trump’s largest campaign rally in the 2nd District involved former third-party presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii. They filled a hotel ballroom with Trump supporters.

Trump’s team spent much of the spring and summer urging Nebraska lawmakers to change state law and award all of its electoral votes to the statewide winner, so-called “winner-take-all.”

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Gov. Jim Pillen was prepared to call a special legislative session to do so but could not secure the needed 33 votes to overcome a promised filibuster.

Republicans outnumber Democrats nearly 2 to 1 statewide in Nebraska. Nonpartisans and third-party registrants make up about a fourth of the state’s registered electorate.

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: [email protected]. Follow Nebraska Examiner on Facebook and X.

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Rhode Island

2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick

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2 dead, 1 seriously hurt after crash on I-95 South in Warwick


WARWICK, R.I. (WPRI) — Two people are dead and another person seriously hurt after a crash involving two vehicles on the highway in Warwick Saturday.

Rhode Island State Police said the crash happened around 1:34 p.m. on the ramp from Route 113 West to I-95 South.

According to police, a Hyundai SUV that was driving in the middle lane of the highway started to drift to the right, crossed the first lane, and then crossed onto the on-ramp lane. The car struck the guardrail twice before driving through the grass median.

The Hyundai then struck the driver’s side of a Mercedes SUV that was on the ramp, causing the Mercedes to roll over and come to a rest. The impact sent the Hyundai over the guardrail and down an embankment.

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The driver of the Hyundai, a 73-year-old man, and his passenger, a 69-year-old woman, were both pronounced dead at the hospital.

A woman who was in the Mercedes was rushed to Rhode Island Hospital in critical condition.

State police said all lanes of traffic were reopened by 4:30 p.m.

The investigation remains ongoing.

Download the WPRI 12 and Pinpoint Weather 12 apps to get breaking news and weather alerts.

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information

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Judge rejects DOJ push for Rhode Island voter information


A federal judge on Friday tossed the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) lawsuit aiming to force Rhode Island to hand over its voter information as part of the Trump administration’s push to acquire voter data from several states.

Rhode Island U.S. District Court Judge Mary McElroy wrote that federal law does not allow the DOJ “to conduct the kind of fishing expedition it seeks here,” siding with Rhode Island election officials. She added that the DOJ did not provide evidence to suggest that Rhode Island violated election law.

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McElroy, a Trump appointee, wrote that she sided with the similar decision in Oregon. That decision ruled that the DOJ was not entitled to unredacted voter registration lists.

“Absent from the demand are any factual allegations suggesting that Rhode Island may be violating the list maintenance requirements,” she said in her ruling.

Rhode Island Secretary of State Gregg Amore (D) praised McElroy’s decision. He said in a statement that the Trump administration “seems to have no problem taking actions that are clear Constitutional overreaches, regularly meddling in responsibilities that are the rights of the states.”

“Today’s decision affirms our position: the United States Department of Justice has no legal right to – or need for – the personally-identifiable information in our voter file,” he said. “Voter list maintenance is a responsibility entrusted to the states, and I remain confident in the steps we take here in Rhode Island to keep our list as accurate as possible.”

The Hill reached out to the DOJ for comment.

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The DOJ called for the voter lists as it investigated Rhode Island’s compliance with the National Voter Registration Act of 1993, which allowed Americans to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license.

The DOJ sued at least 30 states, as well as Washington, D.C., in December demanding their respective voter data. This data includes birth dates, names and partial Social Security numbers.

At least 12 states have given or said they will give the DOJ their voter registration lists, according to a tracker operated by the Brennan Center for Justice.

The department stated after it lost a similar suit against Massachusetts earlier this month that it had “sweeping powers” to access the voter data and that, if states fail to comply, courts have a “limited, albeit vital, role” in directing election officers on behalf of the administration to produce the records. The DOJ cited the Civil Rights Act as being intended to unearth alleged election law violations.

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than $500K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe

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Single Dad Says Grandparents’ Rights Trial Has Cost Him More Than 0K, but He'll Do ‘Whatever It Takes’ to Keep Daughter Safe


As the two-year anniversary of his wife’s death approaches, widowed single father Scott Naso is sounding an alarm to fellow parents across the country — and especially in Rhode Island, where he lives with his now 4-year-old daughter, Laila.



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