Joe Biden Suddenly Needs to Care About Nebraska

Nebraska's Republican Governor Jim Pillen has backed calls for the state to adopt a winner-take-all system for presidential elections, a move that could prevent President Joe Biden from winning any of the state's electoral votes if adopted for November's election.

In a statement released on April 2, Pillen said he supported LB 764, a bill introduced to the Nebraska Legislature by GOP state Senator Loren Lippincott that would give all five of the state's electoral votes to the top-performing candidate. In November 2020, Biden won one of the five votes, despite losing the popular vote statewide to Donald Trump, as he beat his Republican rival in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District, which includes the city of Omaha.

In March, Biden and Trump became their respective parties' presumptive 2024 presidential nominees following a series of primary victories, setting up an election rematch between the men. As the election draws closer, attention is narrowing on the candidates' policies and possible routes for winning the 270 electoral votes needed to guarantee victory. If two candidates tie with 269 votes each from the Electoral College, the contest is decided by the House of Representatives, with one vote per state delegation.

Pillen announced his support for the moving Nebraska to a winner-take-all presidential system in a post on X, formerly Twitter.

He wrote: "I am a strong supporter of Senator Lippincott's winner-take-all bill (LB 764) and have been from the start. It would bring Nebraska into line with 48 of our fellow states, better reflect the founders' intent, and ensure our state speaks with one unified voice in presidential elections.

"I call upon fellow Republicans in the Legislature to pass this bill to my desk so I can sign it into law."

Trump welcomed the move in a post on his Truth Social website. The former president wrote: "Governor Jim Pillen of Nebraska, a very smart and popular Governor, who has done some really great things, came out today with a very strong letter in support of returning Nebraska's Electoral Votes to a Winner-Take-All System.

"Most Nebraskans have wanted to go back to this system for a very long time, because it's what 48 other States do—It's what the Founders intended, and it's right for Nebraska."

Newsweek contacted the White House press office and a representative for Joe Biden's 2024 election campaign for comment by email outside normal working hours.

In a post on X, Politico White House bureau chief Jonathan Lemire said the proposed change in Nebraska would remove Biden's "easiest path" to victory later this year.

He wrote: "If this becomes law, it is possibly a massive deal for November.

"Because it means that if Biden can't get the one electoral vote from the Omaha area, and he loses all the swing states except for WI, MI, PA—he would only get 269. His easiest path to 270 would be gone," Lemire wrote.

Stephen Wolf, who writes about elections for the progressive website Daily Kos, also commented: "If Nebraska Republicans enact this, it would likely cost Biden an electoral vote since he won the 2nd District by 52-46.

"That change would mean Trump could win if he just flipped AZ, GA, & NV since a 269-269 tie would let the House pick Trump. He'd currently need a fourth flip."

Charlie Kirk, the founder and president of the conservative group Turning Point USA, also said on X that the way Nebraska distributes its electoral votes could be decisive.

He wrote: "Suppose Donald Trump flips Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada next fall, as current polls all show him doing. Would he win the presidency? Not quite. In fact, if Trump flips those three states and no others, he loses by exactly ONE electoral vote. Why? Nebraska.

"Despite being one of the most Republican states, Nebraska awards its electoral votes by Congressional district instead of winner-take-all. Thanks to this system, Omaha's electoral vote leans blue: Obama won it in 2008, and Biden won it in 2020. He's likely to win it again this year."

Before Pillen can sign LB 764 into law, the bill must first pass the Nebraska Legislature, which has only one chamber. Republicans have a majority but are short of the two-thirds they need to be filibuster-proof.

A string of eight polls conducted in late February and March gave Biden a slim lead over Trump in the popular vote, suggesting a recovery for the president after earlier polls showed the GOP candidate receiving more support.