Lindsey Graham Helps Nebraska GOP Resurrect Effort To Screw Dems Out Of An Electoral College Vote

This is your TPM evening briefing.
KYIV, UKRAINE - AUGUST 12: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during briefing on August 12, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. A bipartisan delegation from the USA arrived in Kyiv on an official visit. It includes Republican Lin... KYIV, UKRAINE - AUGUST 12: U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham speaks during briefing on August 12, 2024 in Kyiv, Ukraine. A bipartisan delegation from the USA arrived in Kyiv on an official visit. It includes Republican Lindsey Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal. (Photo by Vitalii Nosach/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is leading a delegation for Donald Trump to Nebraska, where the senator is making a last-ditch effort to convince a critical mass of the state’s Republican lawmakers to change how Nebraska awards Electoral College votes, a shift that could turn the state into a winner-takes-all situation.

Unlike most states, Nebraska splits up all five of its Electoral College votes — two go to the winner of the popular vote in the state and the other three are split up among Nebraska’s three congressional districts and are awarded to whoever wins the popular vote in each district. Maine is the only other state with a similarly unusual method of allotting votes. The revived push by Trump allies to convince Nebraska to change its system is a pellucid attempt to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris from winning the Electoral College vote from the state’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the city of Omaha. Democrats were awarded a vote in 2008 and 2020 for winning the popular vote in that district.

Trump allies, led by far-right online provocateur Charlie Kirk, already attempted to change the way Nebraska divvies up votes earlier this year, when President Biden was running for reelection. But Republicans in the state legislature failed to pass the bill that would’ve made the switch.

Republicans are clearly nervous about Harris carrying the Omaha-based district in November — her running mate Tim Walz, who was born near Omaha, held a jam-packed rally there last month — which could help her secure the presidency. The stakes are high, per The Hill:

If Harris loses Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina and Nevada, she could still win the presidency by winning the other states won by President Biden in 2020 — as long as she also wins the single electoral vote from Nebraska’s 2nd District. This would give her exactly 270 electoral votes.

Graham reportedly made a trip to Nebraska this week, at the request of Nebraska GOP Sen. Pete Ricketts and Gov. Jim Pillen, who are both supportive of the change. Similarly, Republican members of Congress from Nebraska put out a letter on Wednesday calling on lawmakers back home to bring the bill back up for consideration before the election.

“As members of Nebraska’s federal delegation in Congress, we are united in our support for apportioning all five of the Nebraska’s electoral votes in presidential elections according to the winner of the whole state,” the letter, addressed to Pillen and Nebraska Speaker of the Legislature John Arch, said. “It is past time that Nebraska join 48 other states in embracing winner-take-all in presidential elections.”

Speaking to reporters on Thursday after his meeting with Pillen and Ricketts, Graham said he was hopeful his efforts to resuscitate the previously-failed effort would be fruitful.

“The whole fate of the country and the world could hinge on one electoral vote,” he told reporters, according to CBS News. “I hope the people in Nebraska will understand this may come down to a single electoral vote. And I just don’t believe a Harris presidency is good for Nebraska.”

Pillen is reportedly willing to bring lawmakers back for a special session to try to pass the bill again before Election Day, per CBS:

“As I have also made clear, I am willing to convene the Legislature for a special session to fix this 30-year-old problem before the 2024 election,” the governor said, though he noted that he must first receive indication that there’s enough support among state senators. Early voting in Nebraska begins on Oct. 1, but the secretary of state said a switch to a winner-take-all system could be implemented anytime before Election Day on Nov. 5, according to a report from KOLN.

The Best Of TPM Today

Immigrants Are Unsung Heroes Of Global Trade And Value Creation, Research Finds

Why The Military Is Central To Trump Advisors’ Plans For Mass Deportations

Newsom Takes Significant Stab At Reining In Social Media Disinfo, Prompting Ire From Musk

Yesterday’s Most Read Story

Maybe It Won’t Be That Close?

What We Are Reading

In Venezuela, AI news anchors aren’t replacing journalists. They’re protecting them

That Time Donald Trump Walked Into a Bar and Bought a Round Using Bitcoin

Notable Replies

  1. This is a much better way to divvy up the EV votes. Jeez. Seems late in the game to do this.

  2. Avatar for jcs jcs says:

    Pillen has already wasted senators time and taxpayer money on one failed special election. Only in a red state would a total failure be allowed to fail so miserably again. Privilege has its benefits.

  3. Donald Trump must have photographs, but then again, Lindsey has always been corrupt. Maybe both are true…

  4. Avatar for darcy darcy says:

    Like a little fluffy dog yipping and pulling on your trouser cuff.

    Plus, it sounds terribly bleak. Kinda like driving to Buffalo to commit suicide.

    Just heard Wolf talking to Joe Manchin like he’s important. Someone should tell him nobody cares, Joe. And you too Wolf.

  5. Avatar for pejg pejg says:

    Could Maine, which has a Dem-controlled trifecta, do the same for their red dot district to retaliate? Also: Lindsey Graham is pathetic.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

66 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for publishermike Avatar for dr_coyote Avatar for trnc Avatar for losamigos Avatar for yskov Avatar for stradivarius50t3 Avatar for left_in_washington_state Avatar for darcy Avatar for ilwynd Avatar for darrtown Avatar for benthere Avatar for zlohcuc Avatar for jonney_5 Avatar for southerndem Avatar for replicnt6 Avatar for lizzymom Avatar for not_so_fluffy Avatar for KJS Avatar for zenicetus Avatar for dogselfie Avatar for old_guru Avatar for Fire_Joni_Ernst Avatar for Paniq

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: