What to expect in Nebraska on Election Day

This story is part of a series of state-by-state previews of the 2024 election.

Nebraska votes solidly Republican in statewide elections, but will nonetheless be closely watched in the presidential race on Election Day. The reason? It's one of two states—Maine is the other—that doesn’t award all of its Electoral College votes to the winner of the statewide popular vote.

Instead, the statewide winner gets two of Nebraska's five votes, while one vote goes to the winner in each of the state’s three congressional districts. That means Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris has a shot at picking up an Electoral College vote in her race against Republican Donald Trump in a state last carried by a Democrat when Lyndon B. Johnson won it in 1964.

If it happens, she'll most likely get that vote in the state's 2nd Congressional District.

The district, which includes Omaha, backed a Democrat for the first time in 2008 when its vote went to Barack Obama. It swung behind Republicans in the following two elections before backing President Joe Biden in 2020. Omaha Democrats refer to themselves as a “blue dot” in an otherwise red state.

Nebraska could also play a key role in the fight for Senate control. For the first time since 1954, both of the state’s seats are up for election.

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