Vice President Kamala Harris has won Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, NBC News projects, earning an electoral vote from a red state.
The historically competitive 2nd District, which includes Omaha and the surrounding suburban areas, has oscillated between Democratic and Republican representation (and presidential winners) in recent years. Barack Obama carried the district in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020, while Mitt Romney won it in 2012 and Donald Trump in 2016. All the while, Nebraska as a whole has leaned firmly red.
Nebraska is one of two states that allocates its electoral votes by congressional district.
Recognizing the district’s significance, Democrats invested heavily in the campaign, pouring millions into advertising after Harris was nominated this summer.
One Harris-allied group, Republican Voters Against Trump, made an advertising push in the district using a persuasion message that was focused on appealing to conservatives who were still on the fence. The message from former Republicans on billboards and in first-person testimonial ads reads: “I’m a former Trump voter. I’m voting for Harris.”
Trump’s allies failed in their effort to change Nebraska’s electoral vote allocation back to a winner-take-all system. In a state that has leaned Republican going back decades, had lawmakers reverted to that model, Trump would have captured all five of the state’s electoral votes.
