Nebraska Legislature to debate winner-take-all bill Tuesday, but unlikely to have enough votes

Yahoo

07-04-2025

Gov. Jim Pillen has successfully pressured the Nebraska Legislature into again discussing a winner-take-all proposal. (Juan Salinas II/Nebraska Examiner)
LINCOLN — The Nebraska statehouse is set to debate a bill and perhaps a related constitutional amendment Tuesday seeking to alter how the state awards Electoral College votes for president.
Legislative Bill 3 was pushed out of the Government, Military, and Veterans Affairs Committee on March 10, after pressure from the governor, whose political future with President Donald Trump could depend on whether he delivers winner-take-all. Despite this week's political theater and pressure from state and nationwide Republicans, the bill and the separate constitutional amendment are likely dead on arrival.
State Sen. Loren Lippincott of Central City is unlikely to have the 33 votes needed to overcome a promised filibuster. The same holdouts from earlier in the legislative session haven't budged from opposing the change. As of Monday afternoon, Lippincott said he doesn't yet have the votes for LB 3.
'I have not seen any change, but I remain hopeful,' Lippincott told the Nebraska Examiner.
Nebraska is one of just two states — Maine is the other — that parcel out some electoral votes to the winner of the presidential popular vote in each congressional district. The district approach, adopted in Nebraska in 1991, has led to Democrats claiming a single electoral vote from the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District three times — in 2008, 2020, and 2024. Republicans have won the rest, including two for winning statewide.
The Nebraska Democratic Party, which has dubbed the 2nd District the 'Blue Dot,' calls LB 3 and the related constitutional amendment an attempt to 'suppress the voices of Nebraskans' and said it would 'work hard to ensure this bill fails.' Some rural Republicans have shared concerns about one day losing 'their voice' under winner-take-all as the state becomes more urban and suburban over time.
Gov. Jim Pillen is using the same tactic he did with the Government Committee, which he pressed to advance the bill to the floor for debate. On Thursday, he released a statement on X saying all Unicameral Republicans need to 'stand together as a team.' Republicans hold 33 of the 49 seats in the officially nonpartisan Legislature.
'President Trump has called for the restoration of WTA, as have the majority of Nebraskans across our state.' Pillen wrote in the post. 'I call upon our Republican Senators to answer this call and vote to advance WTA. In particular, I hope that veteran Senator Merv Riepe stands with his fellow Republicans on this critical issue.'
State Sen. Merv Riepe of Ralston, who often proves a pivotal vote on controversial legislation, has been the loudest holdout on winner-take-all. He was one of the holdouts Trump called in 2024, when the then-presidential candidate was trying to convince senators to support Pillen's 11th-hour push for winner-take-all.
Two months before the 2024 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. The push was killed by then-State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha, a former Democrat and union leader who had pledged when he changed parties and became a Republican to keep the status quo but flirted with changing his mind. McDonnell decided not to support the change, saying he didn't want to disrupt the money and attention that presidential politics brings to the Omaha area. He has since been term-limited from office and lost a recent primary bid for Omaha mayor.
With McDonell term-limited and replaced by State Sen. Margo Juarez of Omaha, Riepe is taking the brunt of the political pressure this go-round. He reaffirmed his stance and intent to vote against the bill and the constitutional amendment during a mini press conference Thursday, saying his voters had expressed their appreciation for how the state stands out because of its electoral system.
'I feel like my family name is on the line,' Riepe told reporters.
State Sen. Dave Wordekemper of Fremont, who voted to advance the bill out of committee, is also likely to vote no but has expressed interest in letting the voters decide via the proposed state constitutional amendment, LR24CA. State Sen. Myron Dorn of Adams has proposed that approach, which the committee also advanced to the floor. LR24CA is not scheduled for debate Tuesday but could be discussed as a potential fallback position.
'At minimum, WTA deserves a fair up-or-down vote on its merits by the people's representatives, not to be smothered by a filibuster led by ultra-liberal Democrats,' Pillen said in last week's statement.
Another indicator of the bill's difficult path is that Speaker John Arch of La Vista announced he is limiting floor debate on LB 3 to four hours Thursday, because most members have already determined how they will vote. Typical bills are given eight hours on the first round of debate.
'I do not believe a drawn-out eight-hour debate benefits this body or anyone on either side of the issue,' he said.
State Sen. Danielle Conrad of Lincoln has already filed motions to indefinitely postpone, bracket, and send the bill back to committee before Tuesday's debate, a hint that Democrats and others opposed to the change are prepared to follow through on a promised filibuster.
State Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha told Nebraska Public Media that the LB 3 debate would be a waste of time because the proposal lacks support.
'The people in the state of Nebraska have been clear that they like the system that we use,' Cavanaugh said.
Recently, a Democratic state lawmaker in Maine proposed a bill in their state's Legislature that would move Maine back to winner-take-all if Nebraska switches as a way of 'protecting' Maine's voices and voters.
Riepe said that Maine's push to change the system would offset any 'advantage' Republicans would gain if Nebraska switched to winner-take-all. He added that he wished more states did their Electoral College system by district because 'it's closer to a popular vote.'
'I'm not ready to give up on that,' Riepe said.
The state's Republicans have pushed for winner-take-all for decades. The effort gained new steam after Trump and surrogates expressed support during his 2024 campaign. Now, with Trump back in the White House and his grip on GOP politics strengthened, people in Pillen's orbit have said he wants to make sure Trump does not endorse Trump donor and friend Charles Herbster in the 2026 GOP primary for governor if Herbster runs.
Pillen defeated Herbster in the 2022 GOP primary for governor despite Herbster having Trump's endorsement. But he had help from then-Gov. Pete Ricketts, now a U.S. senator.
Debate over LB3 is set to begin by 1:30 p.m. on Tuesday.
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