After the winner-take-all principle has reached its limits, conservative MPs are looking to the future in the next legislative period

LINCOLN, Nebraska (KOLN) – Republican efforts to bring winner-take-all back to Nebraska roared to life last Wednesday after a visit from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. But they seemingly stalled Monday when Republican Sen. Mike McDonnell put the brakes on.

McDonnell's vote was crucial in breaking a filibuster, as some of his colleagues said on Oct. 11, but the term-limited senator from Omaha said in a statement that he would not change his “longstanding position” and would “oppose any attempt to change the Electoral College before the 2024 election.”

“Over the past few weeks, the discussion about whether we should change the way our Electoral College votes are distributed has come back to the forefront,” McDonnell said. “I respect the desire of some of my colleagues to have this discussion, and I have taken the time to listen carefully to Nebraskans and national leaders on both sides. After careful consideration, it is clear to me that now, 43 days before Election Day, is not the time to make this change.”

McDonnell also said he wants the unicameral system to pass a constitutional amendment during next year's session to give Nebraska residents a say in the vote.

Nebraska is one of two states in the country where electoral votes are apportioned on Election Day. Two of Nebraska's five votes in the Electoral College go to the winner of the state's popular vote. The other three have been apportioned according to congressional districts since 1992.

“The bill was introduced to say, 'Hey, let's maybe give a voice to people who are being outvoted in the state,'” said University of Nebraska Law School professor Brandon Johnson. “The really big media push behind it was actually to say, 'Hey, let's try to get some attention in Nebraska for the presidential race. And if we make at least part of the state competitive, that will motivate the presidential candidates.'”

In both 2008 and 2020, one vote in Nebraska went to a Democratic presidential candidate, prompting some Republican lawmakers to long seek to repeal the law.

“Nebraska is not up to speed,” said state Senator Loren Lippincott. “What we have right now for us and Maine is a disparity between us and the other 48 states.”

Lippincott introduced a bill in this year's regular legislative session to move to a “winner-take-all” system that would concentrate all of Nebraska's electoral votes to the votes of the winner of the state's popular vote. He had previously said he was confident Graham's meeting with more than a dozen Republican senators at the governor's mansion would “make a difference.”

Now he sees no way forward for this year.

“I am discouraged that we are currently short of the 33 votes we would need to filibuster,” Lippincott said. “We will try again in the new legislative session in January.”

Lippincott called McDonnell a “man of his word,” referring to his public opposition to the winner-take-all principle even after he switched from the Democratic to the Republican Party.

Jane Kleeb, chairwoman of the Nebraska Democratic Party, praised McDonnell this afternoon:

But with this a close, high-stakes presidential race where even a single vote could make the difference, McDonnell's attempt to knock down the door is facing fierce resistance from some of his colleagues.

“I think you have to decide whether you're going to leave one party and go to another, and then you better be prepared to support the policies of that party,” said state Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte. “I don't know how you're going to gain any kind of long-term following in the future if you can't be trusted to work within the party you've switched to.”

Pete Ricketts, the U.S. Senator from Nebraska who supported Graham’s visit, expressed this frustration:

Lippincott and Jacobson said they would support a winner-take-all approach in the 2025 unicameral legislative session.

“Frankly, every Republican who ran as a Republican this year supports this,” Jacobson said. “It will be changed and probably should have been changed two years ago, but I'm confident it will be changed. And I'm not opposed to putting it on the ballot.”

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