Sen. Lindsey Graham, RSC, met with Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen and about two dozen Republican lawmakers on Wednesday to discuss how the state is doing. electors allocate their votesaccording to a source with direct knowledge of the trip.
Graham, who spoke on behalf of the Trump campaign, sought to encourage Pillay to call a special legislative session in which lawmakers could consider changes to the state’s apportionment. election votes– said the source.
Nebraska apportions its electoral votes by congressional district. The swing district around Omaha often goes Democratic in a ruby red state.
Wednesday’s meeting, it was reported earlier by KOLN-TVIt happened in Lincoln. Graham’s office confirmed the local report but declined to comment further.
If Nebraska were to switch to a winner-take-all system, it almost certainly would Give former President Donald Trump an expected extra electoral vote in a tight presidential race.
This one election vote could be decisive.
If Vice President Kamala Harris wins Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin but loses all other stateshe and Trump would have tied for a winner-take-all win in Nebraska with 269 Electoral College votes for Trump to win the state. In this scenario, the race would jump to the US House of Representatives, where each state’s delegation would receive one vote for president. Republicans hold a majority of the delegation, and a majority of the House of Representatives favors keeping it, even though it could change hands after the November elections.
Pillen, a Republican, “accepted” Graham’s proposals on Wednesday and said he would call a special session if he thought the votes were there, the source said.
Pillen has expressed this opinion before.
“As I have consistently stated, I strongly support statewide unification and joining the other 48 states in awarding all five of our electoral college votes to the presidential candidate who wins a majority of Nebraskans’ votes,” Pillen said in a statement last week. “As I have made clear, I am prepared to call the Legislature into a special session to resolve the 30-year-old problem before the 2024 election.”
He added that he has not yet received specific and public instructions about the presence of 33 people [state] senators will vote for a winner-takes-all system.
Supporters of the legislation have said there is not yet enough support to overcome a procedural hurdle that has long prevented the bill from passing.
The Trump campaign did not respond to questions about Graham’s role in Nebraska. Pille’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday night.
Trump has publicly pushed for the state to move to a winner-takes-all system, saying this year it would “be true for Nebraska.”
An attempt to turn the state into a winner-takes-all earlier this year failed on procedural matters.
Maine is the only other state that does not have a winner-take-all system for electoral votes. Democratic state House Majority Leader said the state itself should consider switching to a winner-take-all electoral system As a counter if Nebraska moves to change its system.
Ben Kamisar and Bridget Bowman contributed.