Nebraska will remain one of two states that does not give all of its Electoral College votes automatically to whoever wins the state in presidential elections.
On Wednesday, lawmakers sent a bill that would have made Nebraska a winner-take-all state back to committee, putting the issue to rest for now. The bill was attached to an unrelated bill and lost a procedural vote as most senators deemed the amendment"not germane." But under the current rules, Democrats have picked up an Electoral College vote from time to time. In 2020, Joe Biden won Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District. Then-Sen. Barack Obama also won the Omaha-centric district in 2008.
Lippincott noted that the current system encourages candidates to campaign in the Omaha area since that district is generally competitive, while the rest of the state gets little attention from candidates.