Dem
49
GOP
51
The Republicans really put on the full-court press to try to get the unicameral Nebraska legislature to make the state's EVs winner-take-all, thus turning four certain EVs for the GOP into five certain EVs. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) headed to the Cornhusker State to do some arm-twisting, and Donald Trump even got involved (admittedly, via Zoom). But, as of yesterday, the effort appears to be dead on the vine (well, dead on the cornstalk).
The central figure here is State Sen. Mike McDonnell. He used to be a Democrat, but now he's a Republican. Although, given that the Nebraska legislature is nonpartisan, it probably should be that he used to be nonpartisan, but now he's nonpartisan. In any event, it would require 33 votes to change the rules. That means every one of the 33 "nonpartisan" Republicans in the legislature would have to agree, because every one of the 16 "nonpartisan" Democrats opposes the change. McDonnell came out yesterday and said he would not vote with his fellow "nonpartisan" Republicans. That means 32 votes, at most (and two other "nonpartisan" Republicans are wavering), and 32 isn't enough.
Why did McDonnell decide to buck his "non" party? Well, he explained his official reason like this: "After deep consideration, it is clear to me that right now, 43 days from Election Day, is not the moment to make this change." What he forgot to mention is that he's planning to run for mayor of Omaha, which is pretty blue, and is smack-dab in the middle of NE-02. That is the district whose EV would likely end up being transferred from Kamala Harris to Trump. McDonnell's future political ambitions surely played some role in his decision.
We are hardly dialed in to the nuances and subtleties of Nebraska politics, but Sen. Deb Fischer (R-NE) is, and she said yesterday that "It's over." We see no reason not to believe her. Sorry, Lindsey. (Z)