Donald Trump teams up with Nebraska Governor Jim Pillen to plot Electoral College move that could be devastating for Biden in the 2024 election

Former President Donald Trump and Republican Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen are calling for the state to move to a winner-take-all Electoral College voting system, which could be a blow to the path of the President Biden towards victory in November.

Since 1992, Nebraska has been one of two states to allocate electoral votes proportionally, which includes apportioning some of the electoral votes by congressional district. The other state is Maine.

While Donald Trump carried Nebraska by nearly 20 points at the state level in 2020, Biden was able to flip the 2nd District around Omaha and pick up its only electoral vote on his way to 306 electoral votes in the last presidential election.

As Trump examines how he can reach the 270 electoral votes needed to win in November, he has his eyes on that Nebraska district and wants to see the state’s more than 30-year-old system changed.

The idea of ​​moving to a winner-take-all system gained traction this week after conservative Turning Points USA founder Charlie Kirk posted on X.

‘Suppose Donald Trump defeats Arizona, Georgia and Nevada next fall, as all current polls show. Would he win the presidency? Not quite. In fact, if Trump flips those three states and no others, he will lose by exactly ONE electoral vote,” Kirk wrote. ‘Because? Nebraska.’

There is a bill, LB 764, that was introduced in the state legislature by conservative Republican state senator Loren Lippincott in January 2023 that would move the state to a winner-take-all system. But it was referred to a committee more than a year ago and has been there ever since.

On Tuesday, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen issued a statement saying he supports the bill.

“I am a strong supporter of Senator Lippincott’s winner-take-all bill (LB 764) and have been from the beginning,” he said. “It would align Nebraska with 48 of our sister states, better reflect the founders’ intent, and ensure our state speaks as a unified voice in presidential elections.”

Pillen called on Republicans in the legislature to pass the bill and said he would sign it.

Nebraska’s legislature is unicameral and officially nonpartisan, but most legislators are registered Republicans.

Trump praised Pillen for his support of a winner-take-all system, saying it is “fit for Nebraska.”

‘Let’s hope the Senate does the right thing. “Nebraskans, let’s respectfully ask your senators to support this great bill,” he wrote in a social media post.

The Nebraska Republican Party is also supporting the bill, but state Democrats are skeptical of the effort to pass the legislation before the term ends. Nebraska’s legislative session ends April 18.

“Reporting live from the trenches, don’t worry, we’re not getting rid of our unique Nebraska election system,” state Sen. Megan Hunt, who represents District 8 in Omaha, wrote in X. ‘Legislatively there is simply no time. There is nothing to worry about this year.’

Hunt said the effort simply shows that Trump has serious concerns about the election coming down to one electoral vote and accused him of being willing to “cheat and change the rules from state to state” to ensure a victory. Hunt called the move pathetic.

The chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party urged Nebraskans to call their state senators to express their support for the current system.

“We are proud of our unique electoral voting system and are well aware of the economic benefits it brings with a national approach in our state,” said Chairwoman Jane Kleeb.

“Governor Pillen may be influenced by extremist online personality Charlie Kirk, but our party is confident that the Nebraska Legislature will continue to protect our fair electoral voting system.”

If Trump managed to flip all three states of Arizona, Georgia and Nevada, as Kirk suggested, he would still be just short of the 270 delegates needed to win the presidency with 268.

If Biden loses those three states, which he won in 2020 but still took the battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, he would need exactly 270 delegates to win.

If Nebraska were to move to a winner-take-all system on that map, the electoral college would be split between Biden and Trump 269 to 269. When the Electoral College is tied, the decision goes to the House where Republicans currently hold its smallest majority in decades.

The only other state without a winner-take-all system for its electoral votes is Maine. In 2020, Biden won statewide, but Trump received one electoral vote from his rural 2nd district.