Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina traveled to Nebraska last week to persuade state officials to adopt a winner-take-all system before the November election.
Graham met with Republican legislators from Nebraska’s Unicameral last Wednesday to discuss Nevada’s system of counting Electoral College votes, multiple state senators said, 1011 Now reported. Lawmakers gathered in the governor’s mansion, where most of the state senators present supported advancing winner-take-all legislation.
Nebraska and Maine both distribute their electoral votes using the Congressional District Method and are the only states in the union that do not use the winner-take-all system of votes, according to FairVote. (RELATED: ‘She’ll Have No Electoral College Paths’: Mark Halperin Warns Harris’ Chances Of Victory Could Be In Jeopardy)
Nebraska, although a red state, has one vote that is in play for Democrats, according to NBC Washington. The Omaha district is a swing district in a solidly Republican state, and it could be the deciding factor.
“To my friends in Nebraska, that one electoral vote could be the difference between Harris being president or not, and she’s a disaster for Nebraska and the world,” Graham said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“To my friends in Nebraska, that one electoral vote could be the difference between Harris being president or not and she’s a disaster for Nebraska and the world” — Lindsey Graham on Meet the Press calls for Nebraska to change its election rules before November 5 pic.twitter.com/jHtghpojNS
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 22, 2024
Sen. Graham encouraged the remaining holdouts to support transitioning to a winner-take-all system, according to 1011 Now News.
“He wanted us to kind of understand the national picture,” Republican Nebraska State Sen. Tom Brewer and chair of the Legislature’s Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee told the outlet. (RELATED: ROOKE: If State GOP’s Plan Works, Harris’s Path To Victory Becomes Road To Hell)
In Nebraska, early voting starts on Oct. 1, and certain senators are eager for the governor to sign the bill before the deadline.
However, Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen said he would not call a special session until there were 33 votes in favor of making Nebraska a winner-take-all state, according to a press release.
He stated he supports “statewide unity” and awarding all “electoral college votes to the presidential candidate who wins a majority of Nebraskans’ votes.”
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… pic.twitter.com/qhFGUKNbqH
— Donald J. Trump Posts From His Truth Social (@TrumpDailyPosts) April 3, 2024
“I hope they will allow winner-take-all,” Graham said Thursday, according to CBS News. “Trump’s going to win the state by 20 points.” (RELATED: Jamie Raskin Claims The Electoral College ‘Can Get You Killed’)
Republican Nebraska Senator Pete Ricketts echoed calls for a change to the state’s election system Monday on Twitter, claiming the current system “dilutes Nebraska’s vote.”
I’m incredibly disappointed by Senator McDonnell’s opposition to Winner Take All.
We should cast our five electoral votes with one voice by switching from a system that dilutes Nebraska’s vote to a system that allows us to elect a President for all Nebraskans.
— Pete Ricketts (@PeteRicketts) September 23, 2024
“I hope the people in Nebraska will understand this may come down to a single electoral vote,” Graham stated, according to CBS News. “And I just don’t believe a Harris presidency is good for Nebraska.”
The Caller reached out to Sen. Graham’s office, but has not heard back at the time of publication.
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