President Trump easily beat Democrat Joe Biden in the statewide vote 58-40%, but Biden won in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, a victory that allowed him to peel off one of the state’s 5 Electoral College votes.
Nebraska and Maine are the only states that permit its electoral votes to be split. In Nebraska, the statewide winner earns 2 votes, but the other three votes are decided by the winner of the congressional districts.
Because President Donald Trump won the statewide vote and in Nebraska’s two other districts, he will receive four Electoral College votes while Biden gets 1.
Even though Biden won the 2nd District, the seat remains in the hands of Republican Don Bacon – who won a 3rd term despite a tough rematch from progressive Democrat Kara Eastman 51-46%, a margin of fewer than 15,000 votes.
Bacon’s voting record mostly aligned with President Trump, but he pitched himself as bipartisan during the campaign and secured endorsements from several centrist Democrats, including former Rep. Brad Ashford, who lost his seat to Bacon in 2016.
Adrian Smith of Gering won an 8th term in the 3rd District with 79% of the vote and veteran Jeff Fortenberry won again in the 1st District, beating State Sen Kate Bolz by 20% after trailing with about a third of the precincts counted.
U-S Senator Ben Sasse shattered the Nebraska record for most votes in a federal election as he tallied 559,000 in winning a second term. The previous record was 512,000 by then-Senator Mike Johanns. Sasse got 67% of the vote and carried all 93 counties.