Grand Island-area lawmaker reflects on Trump’s visit to central Nebraska

GRAND ISLAND, Neb. — One of two state lawmakers representing Grand Island in Nebraska’s one-house Legislature praised President Donald Trump for visiting the area Monday.

Trump’s rally was at the Nebraska State Fairgrounds in Legislative District 35, represented by state Sen. Dan Quick of Grand Island. The fairgrounds are one block away from Legislative District 34, represented by state Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City. Quick is a Democrat; Lippincott is a Republican. The Legislature is officially nonpartisan, meaning lawmakers do not officially organize by political party and lawmakers’ party affiliation doesn’t appear on the ballot.

Lippincott told the Nebraska Examiner inside the Pinnacle Bank Expo Center that Nebraska is “very honored” to host Trump. Lippincott stretched his arms to thousands gathered Monday as proof “Nebraskans are absolutely thrilled” for the president of the United States to come.

“We’re very excited here in Grand Island,” Lippincott said. “Not only do we have the State Fair, but then to be selected for a Trump rally is just absolutely spectacular. We are totally thrilled about it.”

In 2025, Lippincott led the effort to restore Nebraska’s “winner-take-all” Electoral College model. Nebraska currently awards two Electoral College votes to the statewide winner and one vote for each of Nebraska’s three congressional districts. Two Republicans buckled. Had all of the Legislature’s 33 Republicans unified, the measure could have passed the 49-member body.

But on Monday, Republicans sought a different message behind Trump as thousands came dressed in red, some in sequins and others in clothing they’d made to honor Trump. Trump won Hall County, which includes Grand Island, with 65% of the vote in 2016, 66% in 2020 and 68% in 2024.

“We know that this part of the state is red already, so it’s not like he’s coming here just to pick up a lot of votes, but instead, it’s to honor the individuals that do support his agenda and do support the work that he has done, which has been substantial,” Lippincott said. He said some of the biggest accomplishments for Trump are around public safety, in crime rates and immigration.

Quick, a Democrat, outperformed the Democratic presidential nominee facing Trump in all three elections that Trump and Quick were both on the ballot in the district. In 2016, Quick won with 50.3% of the vote.

But in 2020, Quick handily lost reelection — 53.6%-46.4% — to former state Sen. Ray Aguilar of Grand Island. Aguilar had previously served from 1999 to 2009. Quick staged a rematch in 2024 and won again with 50.3% of the vote. That race was the most expensive in direct spending for legislative races in 2024, with nearly $665,000 between Quick and Aguilar. Quick outspent Aguilar by $84,000.

Quick, one of the more moderate Democrats in the Legislature, said in a text that he had meetings in Lincoln on Monday. He declined to comment on Trump’s visit.

Some Nebraska Democrats, such as Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb of Hastings, have said Trump’s 2026 midterms tour is a sign of weakness. Kleeb encouraged an “unwelcoming committee” for Trump on Monday and said on social media that Trump’s visit “tells you one basic fact: Republicans are in trouble, even in Nebraska.”

Trump asks Nebraska to ‘pretend’ he’s on the midterm ballot

Other Trump critics have scrutinized possible local costs for security and law enforcement overtime. Lippincott hailed Falls City agribusinessman Charles Herbster, who announced he would pay those costs.

Lippincott disagreed with Kleeb and other critics and said it’s the opposite. He said Trump has a “forehead of flint, and whenever he finds any kind of resistance, he runs headlong into it.”

“In my opinion … these kinds of rallies are like what the sunshine is to Superman,” Lippincott said. “It restores his strength. He loves this type of arena, this type of environment, and this recharges him.”