Nebraska

Nebraska entered the Union in March 1867, 13 years after it became a territory under the Kansas-Nebraska Act, and the first state admitted after the end of the Civil War. The state is strongly Republican in presidential elections – it last voted Democratic in 1964. However, it is one of only two states (Maine being the other) to not use the winner-take-all approach to awarding electoral votes. The winner of the popular vote gets two electoral votes, while one is assigned to the winner of each of the state’s three congressional districts. This approach was established beginning with the 1992 election and has come into play twice, with the Democratic candidate winning the 2nd Congressional District (Omaha area) in both 2008 and in 2020.

Donald Trump won statewide over Joe Biden by 19% in 2020. Nebraska’s primarily rural population has not grown as quickly as other parts of the country, leading to declining electoral influence – from a peak of eight electoral votes before the Great Depression to its current total of five.