Hillary Clinton tells Nebraska Democrats election offers opportunity to reverse Trump’s policies

OMAHA — Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton talked to a full room of Nebraska Democrats on Saturday, emphasizing the importance of Democrats’ seizing the current political environment.

Clinton’s event was a Q&A, and the crowd’s inquiries ranged  from her advice for moms and women running for office to questions about her political career. 

Omaha Mayor John Ewing gave Clinton the key to the city of Omaha before she spoke at the downtown Hilton. 

“Everything that we could hope for in the lead-up to the next election is really happening. … We just have to stay focused and on task and turn out the vote and celebrate when we take back the House and the Senate,” Clinton said to cheers. 

Clinton said there is “an opportunity” in this midterm election to “reverse the damage” and begin repairing what “has been deliberately broken,” referring to President Donald Trump. She said the current Congress has done “much damage” by voting for Trump’s tax-and-spending bill.  

Republicans are facing tough headwinds this November. The party in the White House typically doesn’t do well in midterm elections. Democrats are fully bullish on their chances of taking both the U.S. House and Senate. Nebraska currently has a few races that are viewed as competitive, including the Senate and 2nd Congressional District races. Trump recently came to Grand Island as part of a midterm campaign blitz to shore up red states. 

Janet Goodman Banks, a 70-year-old Lincoln resident, said after the event that she strongly believes Democrats will take back the House and Senate. Banks said Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District has a “great chance of flipping.” 

“I’ve always believed that CD1 could also earn a blue dot. …This is a chance to do so, and so I’m really hopeful that Chris can pull it out,” Banks told the Examiner. 

That House race includes Incumbent Republican Rep. Mike Flood and his Democratic challenger Chris Backemeyer, as well as candidates for the America First and Libertarian parties. While the political environment has improved for Democrats, election analysts still rate the race as safely Republican — though national Democrats see it as competitive.

Clinton, when asked how to reach people who view their votes as meaningless, said Democrats must repeatedly show they’ll do everything they can to help people have the life they deserve. She added that Democrats must deliver results if they win the majorities that polling suggests are possible in November. 

The 2016 Democratic presidential nominee said she thinks Trump’s original appeal is wearing off among Americans. 

“I think what originally seemed like, ‘Oh, he’s a different kind of leader. He says what he thinks,’all of that, I think that it’s beginning to finally sink through to people, like, ‘Wait a minute, am I better off? Has my life improved?’” Clinton said. “I look at other people, especially those who are doing really, really well. And they seem to be enjoying a lot of access to the president, and even the president has made a lot of money.” 

Karen Follon and Peg O’Dea Lippert, both Omaha residents, said they’re hopeful about Democrats’ chances this upcoming election. 

O’Dea Lippert and Follon said they already voted for the Democratic nominee for the 2nd Congressional District, Denise Powell, and registered nonpartisan candidate Dan Osborn for Senate. 

“We need to get people back in office to take care of our members of society because if anybody in our society is hurting, we’re all hurting,” Follon said. 

Republican Sen. Pete Ricketts released a press release ahead of the event, trying to link Osborn to Clinton. The Ricketts campaign cited Plains Sentinel reporting saying that Osborn voted for Clinton in 2016.

The general election is Nov. 3. Early voting has already started.