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Editorial
Thank you Dist. 5 Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha.
Despite some incredible arm twisting from Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, South Carolina Senator Lyndsey Graham, former President Donald Trump and several other members of the Nebraska Republican party, Sen. McDonnell voted with his conscience this week.
McDonnell announced Monday he had no plans to change his mind and vote to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state in the upcoming general election.
That means Nebraska will continue to stand with Maine as the only two states that assign their presidential electors using a proportional system, meaning a candidate gets an elector for every Congressional District they win.
A candidate needs the vote of at least 270 electors— more than half of all electors—to win the presidential election.
Because of McDonnell’s decision, Pillen announced Tuesday there would be no special session to restore winner-take-all prior to the 2024 presidential election: “My team and I have worked relentlessly to secure a filibuster-proof 33-vote majority to get winner-take-all passed before the November election. Given everything at stake for Nebraska and our country, we have left every inch on the field to get this done. Unfortunately, we could not persuade 33 state senators,” Pillen said.
Pillen said McDonnell’s decision is “profoundly disappointing to me and the many others who have worked so earnestly to ensure all Nebraskans’ votes are sought after equally this election.”
We couldn’t disagree more.
We feel it was profoundly disappointing that Governor Pillen would even consider calling yet another special session this year.
In pushing for this change, the Governor decided to vacate his role as Nebraska’s top executive to take up the role of cheerleader for the national Republican party.
Having a competitive Congressional district not only gives all Nebraskans in that district a chance to have their voices heard, it also gives the state a huge economic shot in the arm.
Having a competitive race in Omaha brings tremendous national attention to the state and is impactful on the local economy.
It also forces Presidential candidates to make their case to all Nebraskans, instead of just flying over and disregarding us.
Besides losing out on valuable campaign dollars, a move such as this would have cost Nebraskans the expense of holding a special session.
According to Clerk of the Legislature Brandon Metzler, the last special session Pillen called cost state taxpayers between $10,000 and $15,000 per day.
We can certainly find a better way to spend those taxpayer dollars then wasting them on a special session.
It’s about time Governor Pillen realizes he was elected to guide a state filled with Republicans, Democrats and Independents — not just Republicans.
