CNN —
A push by President Donald Trump and his Republican allies to change Nebraska’s election laws suffered a major setback Monday when a key state senator from Omaha said he would not support a last-ditch effort to overturn a 30-year-old law that allocates electoral votes by district rather than a statewide winner-take-all system.
State Sen. Mike McDonnell, a former Democrat who joined the Republican Party earlier this year, said in a statement Monday that he doesn’t plan to vote in favor of changing Nebraska’s law before the November election.
“After careful consideration, it is clear that with 43 days until Election Day, now is not the time to make this change,” McDonnell said. “I remain committed to my long-standing position and have notified Governor Pillen that I will oppose any attempt to change the Electoral College system prior to the 2024 election.”
McDonnell was seen as one of the last Republican hopes to change the law before November, and he made it clear he would not support changing it so close to the election.
“Nebraska voters, not politicians of either party, should have the final say on how we select our president,” McDonnell said. “I want to thank those voters for engaging in our democracy and showing America what Nebraskans are like – independent-minded, proud of the great city of Omaha and deeply committed to the promise of American democracy.”
The battle for Nebraska’s one electoral vote in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, which has become known as the “Blue Dot of Omaha,” has emerged as a symbol of how close the race between Trump and Kamala Harris has become.
Even if Harris wins the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, but not any other key battleground states, she will need the electoral votes of Nebraska’s 2nd District to secure the 270 electoral votes needed to win the White House.
Trump believes he can secure Nebraska’s four electoral votes but is increasingly nervous about a fifth, leading him and his Republican allies to launch a belated effort to try to change the state’s election laws just weeks before the vote. He called a conference of state senators last week to urge them to change the laws before November.
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Trump won all five of Nebraska’s electoral votes in 2016 but just four in 2020, when Joe Biden won the Omaha-area seat. The Harris campaign has spent millions trying to win back Nebraska’s lone electoral vote, waging a grassroots campaign in yards across Omaha and erecting signs decorated with Nebraska’s solid red and a blue dot – a symbol of Democratic hope.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Cleave on Monday praised McDonnell’s decision.
“Nebraska prides itself on its long and proud tradition of independence, and our election system reflects that, ensuring that election results truly reflect the will of the people, free from interference,” Cleave said in a statement to CNN. “Senator McDonnell has resisted significant pressure from outside interests and remains steadfast in protecting Nebraskans’ right to a voice in our democracy.”
The state’s Republican governor, Pillen, said he remains open to calling a special session of the Nebraska Legislature before the November election to change the law, but only if there is enough support. An effort to change the law, which applies only to Nebraska and Maine, failed earlier this year.
Officials said McDonnell’s statement Monday appears to have concluded the issue for this year.
Neither Pillen nor the Trump campaign immediately responded to requests for comment.
