Source: Politics<\/p>\n
President Joe Biden’s campaign officials have been in private talks with Nebraska Democrats after Republicans in the state began pushing for changes that could close off one of the president\u2019s clearest paths to reelection.<\/p>\n
The campaign has declined to comment on that push, which would turn Nebraska into a winner-take-all state in presidential elections, as opposed to one that allocates a portion of its Electoral College votes based on results in individual congressional districts.<\/p>\n
But the private outreach, confirmed by two people familiar with it and granted anonymity to speak freely, suggests that the Democratic Party \u2014 from the president on down \u2014 has begun to take more seriously the possibility of the legislation, known as LB 764, passing.<\/p>\n
Former President Donald Trump and the state’s Republican governor, Jim Pillen, are encouraging state lawmakers to move legislation that would repeal Nebraska\u2019s 1991 law that divides electors based both on who wins the state and how each candidate performs in its three congressional districts. Republican activists have targeted the law precisely because in recent cycles, including 2020, the Democratic presidential candidate won the Omaha-based 2nd District, giving them an additional Electoral College vote.<\/p>\n
Conservative talk show host Charlie Kirk \u2014 who sparked a viral online pressure campaign in favor of LB 764 \u2014 is expected to appear in Omaha on Tuesday to rally for the bill\u2019s passage. Kirk has encouraged his supporters to contact legislators to move it through committee.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a decent amount of momentum behind it, but there are only a handful of legislative days left so it\u2019d take a herculean effort to make it happen logistically,\u201d said Barry Rubin, a Nebraska-based lobbyist. \u201cPressure from national groups, along with the governor and others, in addition to the enormous impact of removing the \u2018blue dot\u2019 from Nebraska\u2019s 2nd could certainly move this along.\u201d<\/p>\n
In elections past, Nebraska\u2019s Electoral College votes were largely immaterial. But this cycle, Biden\u2019s simplest path to reelection has long been seen as winning the old Democratic Blue Wall \u2014 Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin \u2014 and that Omaha-area district. Doing so would give Biden precisely the 270 electoral votes needed to win, even if he lost the remainder of the battleground states.<\/p>\n
Some Biden officials have argued that Nebraska is not essential, noting that the president won Georgia, Arizona and Nevada in 2020. A victory in any of those, or flipping North Carolina, would give him a win provided he holds on to the Blue Wall. The Biden campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n
But some campaign aides and Democrats who obsess over the electoral map take seriously the challenges a change in Nebraska could pose. Both Arizona and Georgia, most Democratic strategists feel, appear far more difficult to win this time around, while Nevada always is won by razor-thin margins. North Carolina has been long circled by Biden\u2019s advisers in Wilmington as the president\u2019s one possible pickup. But the state has only gone Democratic once since 1976.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at the map, that one electoral vote really matters in combination with other things,\u201d said Jim Messina, who steered Barack Obama\u2019s 2012 reelection campaign. \u201cThe easiest pathway to victory has always been the three Midwestern states plus Nebraska. They\u2019d have to find something else too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Inside Nebraska, lawmakers have been bearish on the possibility that LB 764 will actually pass, at least in the current legislative session which is set to end on April 18.<\/p>\n
The bill, which was introduced over a year ago to little acclaim, does not have the \u201cpriority\u201d status needed to be taken up by the full legislature. With just six working days left in the session \u2014 and two days to get a bill before the full legislature \u2014 sponsors downplayed the likelihood of getting it to Pillen\u2019s desk.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy staff and I are doing everything we can to seek options for getting this to the finish line. However, the harsh reality of a two-day time frame is limiting,\u201d Republican state Sen. Loren Lippincott said in a statement to POLITICO. \u201cI stand in support of this bill and will continue to fight for this in the Nebraska Legislature.\u201d<\/p>\n