After careful consideration, it has become clear to me that now, 43 days before Election Day, is not the right moment to make a change.
– He is martyred Mike McDonnell Nebraska Senator McDonnell's statement on Monday before the Hill. Originally a Democrat, McDonnell joined the Republicans this year after being rebuked by his former party. It would have been the decisive vote for Republicans in Nebraska's 49-member unicameral legislature to pass the state's new electoral system. (To close the discussion, so-called Obstruction It takes two-thirds to defeat).
Some Republican politicians have been saying since the spring that Nebraska, which uses a unique workaround in the Electoral College system, should switch to — like others —
All votes, that is, all five electoral votes, will be awarded to the winning presidential candidate at the state level.
In April, they already failed in a similar attempt. Republican-leaning Nebraska is currently splitting its electoral votes: A candidate who wins statewide gets two electors, so a presidential hopeful who wins all three congressional districts will also be one elector richer.
In 2020, Joe Biden won the Omaha area, one electoral vote ahead of Donald Trump.
However, in this year's very close presidential election, that voice may be even more important. Ha Kamala Harris If the Democratic vice president wins only Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, while losing the other battleground states, he would receive only 269 electors, one short of the 270 needed to win.
Thus, Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District could help Harris reach the maximum threshold.
This would allow the Democratic presidential candidate to prepare for the Oval Office. Republicans wanted to prevent this scenario.
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump did not react very happily to the developments. “I want to thank you Jim Bells To the Governor of Nebraska for trying to help the Republican Party simplify the complexities of the state's electoral system. It could have been much better and cheaper for everyone!” the former president wrote on Truth Social.
It is unfortunate that a state senator, who has switched from Democrat to Republican (?) named Mike McDonnell, decided to stand in the way of a great and logical Republican victory for no good reason. Just another showboating itch!
Trump explained. In addition to McDonnell, two other Republicans seemed unsure about the change proposal, which failed for a second time.
In addition to Nebraska, only Maine, which leans Democratic, uses a similar system. One prominent Democratic politician there said that if Nebraskans voted for the transition, they would certainly not continue to reward candidates who win congressional districts.
Cover image is an illustration. Cover image source: Getty Images
