Nebraska lawmakers respond to Gov. Jim Pillen’s pressure on winner-take-all

LINCOLN — Gov. Jim Pillen successfully pressured Nebraska lawmakers to discuss a bill early next week that would alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president after multiple efforts fell short in recent years. 

During Thursday morning’s legislative session, Pillen took to social media, on X, and urged his supporters to contact senators on the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee to advance Legislative Bill 3 to the full Legislature.

That bill would return the state to its previous system of awarding all five of its electoral votes for president to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

“Passing Winner Take All is a priority for President Trump, and it is mine as well,” Pillen posted on X. He added that the committee was “preventing the full Legislature from giving it fair and open consideration.”

Committee schedules discussion

By the end of the day, State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City, who filed LB 3 and made it his priority bill for the session, said the committee would hold an executive session on Monday morning, as first reported by the Lincoln Journal Star. 

Lippincott told the Nebraska Examiner on Friday that he is grateful for the “opportunity to try and get Nebraska back to the same rules” as the rest of the country. 

The committee also will consider a proposed amendment to the state constitution from State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams, allowing voters to decide whether to change to winner-take-all.

It would take five votes to advance either measure out of the eight-member committee, but a senator could attempt to pull a bill out of a committee if it ends up in gridlock. 

“Our governor, U.S. senators, our secretary of state, treasurer and auditor serve the whole state and are elected by the whole state,” Lippincott said. “The U.S. president also serves the whole state and should be elected by the popular vote of the whole state.”

Nebraska is just one of the two states — Maine is the other — that parcel out some electoral votes by the winner in each of the state’s congressional districts. The approach, adopted in Nebraska in 1991, has led to Democrats claim a single electoral vote from the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District three times — in 2008, 2020 and 2024.

Nebraska Democrats have dubbed the 2nd District the  “Blue Dot.” The Nebraska Democratic Party has called this bill an attempt to “suppress the voices of Nebraskans” and “will work hard to ensure this bill fails.” 

The state’s Republicans have pushed for winner-take-all for decades, but the effort has gained steam since Trump expressed support for the initiative during his 2024 campaign. 

Difficult path for passage

It’s unlikely Lippincott has the 33 votes needed to overcome a promised filibuster, which could grind the Legislature to a halt, at least for a time. However, the latest push likely signals that Pillen’s political future with Trump could depend on whether he can deliver winner-take-all. 

With Trump back in the White House and his grip on GOP politics strengthened, people in Pillen’s orbit have said he wants to keep Trump from endorsing if Trump donor and friend Charles Herbster jumps into the Republican primary for governor in 2026. Pillen defeated Herbster in the 2022 GOP primary for governor despite Herbster having Trump’s endorsement.

Pillen’s 11th-hour push for winner-take-all in 2024 was killed by former State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha. He decided not to support it, saying he didn’t want to disrupt the money and attention that presidential politics brings the Omaha area. 

Now, his no vote is a part of a controversy in his bid for Omaha mayor. 

Two months before the 2024 presidential election, Pillen held a meeting on winner-take-all at the Governor’s Mansion with at least two dozen Republican state senators about securing support and trying to convince holdouts. Trump even called some of the holdouts. 

The Trump factor

Pillen told senators the importance of Trump winning the election and securing all of Nebraska’s electoral votes, as national polls at the time showed a tight race between Trump and the Democratic nominee, former Vice President Kamala Harris. 

Harris ended up winning the 2nd District, but Trump won Nebraska statewide. He also won the swing states and the popular vote. 

Lippincott said earlier this session that he felt more optimistic about his latest attempt to change how the state awards electoral votes, because term limits and elections had changed the faces in the Legislature, and there is no presidential election this year.

During the hearing for LB 3, some rural Republicans shared concerns about losing “their voice” under winner-take-all if the state becomes more urban and Democratic over time.

Committee member State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, said the bill would “diminish the value of the votes” of some voters. 

This week, Lippincott said Nebraska was following “a trend” when it implemented its district-based electoral system, but it didn’t catch on and “put us out of step” with the nation. 

“If it was such a great idea, why isn’t the rest of the nation following suit?” he asked.