Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) thinks the country should follow Nebraska and Maine and distribute electoral votes by congressional district. However, he said if the other 48 states are using a winner-take-all system, the Cornhusker State won’t work well as an outlier.
A last-minute effort to change Nebraska’s system to winner-take-all failed Tuesday. Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE) said he would not call a special session after being unable to convince enough lawmakers to make the change before the Nov. 5 election, saying in a statement that “we have left every inch on the field to get this done.”
Bacon, who faces a tough reelection battle in the state’s swing 2nd Congressional District, made the case Tuesday for Nebraska’s system to be used nationwide while on NewsNation’s The Hill. However, he also admitted to problems that could come with its uniqueness.
“Well, I think two things can be true. On one hand, I think we’d be better off if every state does what we do in Nebraska. What it would do is incentivize candidates to campaign in more states and all over our country,” Bacon said.
He pointed out that because Nebraska and Maine are the only states that allocate their electoral votes by congressional district, it “creates a lot of problems” for his House race. Bacon also said the state should move forward with changing to a winner-take-all system after the November elections conclude.
“I think we should probably do it after the election and get it right and go back to winner-take-all like 48 other states do. Now, if we had a plan to get all 50 states to go by district, that would be a good thing. I think it would be better. But we’re only one of two states,” Bacon said.
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Bacon’s seat is one of the most hotly contested House races and has been a swing electoral vote in recent presidential elections. Democrats won the lone electoral vote from the 2nd District in 2008 and 2020, and the one electoral vote could be the tipping point for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
The Cook Political Report has rated the House race in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District as a “toss-up,” while the presidential race is rated as “lean Democrat.”