CNN —
Donald Trump believes he can win Nebraska’s four electoral votes but is increasingly nervous about a fifth, leading him and his Republican allies to launch a last-ditch effort to change the state’s election laws just weeks before Election Day.
Trump held a brief phone call with Nebraska Republican lawmakers this week as they met with Republican Gov. Jim Pillen to discuss the feasibility of overturning a 30-year-old law that allocates electoral votes by district rather than a statewide winner-take-all system.
Attempts to change the law have failed this year and in past years, but Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina flew to Nebraska on Wednesday to meet with lawmakers in hopes of backing up Trump’s claims. Republican sources told CNN that the former president attended the meeting briefly to garner support and impress upon them the importance of the one electoral vote.
It’s another sign of how close the race with Vice President Kamala Harris will be, with the Omaha-area congressional district’s single electoral vote potentially playing a decisive role. Even if Harris wins the “blue wall” states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, but not other key battleground states, she would need to win 270 votes in the so-called “blue dot” of Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District to win the White House.
“I hope that the people of Nebraska understand that this could come down to one electoral vote. I don’t think a Harris presidency would be good for Nebraska,” Graham said. “I don’t think it would be good for America’s foreign policy interests.”
Trump won all five of Nebraska’s electoral votes in 2016, but Joe Biden won Omaha’s electoral votes in 2020, winning four. The Harris campaign has spent millions trying to win back Nebraska’s lone electoral vote, waging a grassroots campaign in yards across Omaha and erecting signs bearing a blue dot – a symbol of Democratic hope – among Nebraska’s all-colored electoral votes.
Republican officials told CNN on a conference call Wednesday that Trump’s brief remarks were neither threatening nor overly vindictive. Trump’s campaign has put very little money into the race in the state, which has become a talking point for Republicans who believe Trump should be doing his best to win votes, like Harris, rather than fighting for legal changes.
Trump’s call was first reported by The Washington Post.
Governor Pillen said he remains open to calling a special session of the Nebraska Legislature before the November election to change the law, but only if there is enough support. An effort to change the law, which only applies to Nebraska and Maine, failed earlier this year.
“At this time, we have not yet received any concrete, public indication that the 33 senators will vote for the WTA,” Pillen said in a statement last week, referring to winner-take-all legislation. “Should the situation change, we would be happy to call a special session.”
A few dissenters remain, including Omaha state Sen. Mike McDonnell, who switched from Democrat to Republican earlier this year but has so far resisted calls to support a winner-take-all electoral system.
Senator McDonnell’s spokesman, Barry Rubin, told the Nebraska Examiner on Thursday, “Senator McDonnell has heard compelling arguments from both sides, and as of today, (he) remains opposed.”
Democrats have vowed to block any last-minute attempts to change the law before the November election.
“We’re watching very closely to see if that happens,” said state Sen. Tony Vargas, who is challenging Republican Rep. Don Bacon in the 2nd Congressional District, one of the most competitive districts in the country. “In theory, things could change right up until Election Day.”
Bacon and four other members of the state’s federal delegation, all Republicans, renewed their call this week for support for changing Nebraska’s law, writing in a letter that “it is past time for Nebraska to join the other 48 states and adopt winner-take-all electoral rule in presidential elections.”
Harris’ campaign and Nebraska Democratic Party officials are closely watching last-minute moves to change election law, after the bill fell 17 votes short of passing when the issue came up for a vote during the state Legislature’s regular session earlier this year.
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb said the 17 votes were “very solid.”
“Both Trump and Harris have the ability to compete for the votes of Nebraskans,” Cleave told CNN. “Democrats are taking their responsibility seriously and are spending their time going door-to-door, calling voters and putting signs in their yard. That’s not the only thing Republicans are doing these days: wasting their time threatening elected officials.”
Trump benefited from the system in Democratic-leaning Maine, winning its one electoral vote in 2016 and 2020 despite losing the state overall. Democrats are more optimistic about winning Nebraska’s one electoral vote than they are about winning Maine by a landslide, party officials say.
Maine officials say the bill needs 90 days to take effect, meaning the state is running out of time to change its law, drawing more attention to President Trump’s efforts to change Nebraska’s system.
Democrats dominate ad spending in Omaha, a major media market: Harris’ campaign has spent about $4.4 million since she emerged as the top Democratic candidate in July, according to a CNN analysis of AdImpact data, while several outside allies have spent just over $1 million.
Democrats also stand to have a big advertising advantage going forward: They have booked about $6 million in ad space going forward in Nebraska, according to AdImpact data, with more than $1 million in airtime booked each week in the final month of the campaign.
Republicans have invested very little in the state, with the Trump campaign only contributing about $103,000, according to AdImpact data.
CNN’s Alaina Turine, David Wright and Morgan Rimmer contributed to this report.
