Last updated on July 17th, 2023 at 07:17 pm
Hillary Clinton held a rally in Omaha, Nebraska on Monday. No, that’s not a typo – she really campaigned in the deeply red state.
Now, don’t get too carried away: Nebraska is a safe Republican state and that’s not likely to change in 2016. John McCain won it by 15 points in 2008 and Romney beat President Obama there by a whopping 22 percentage points in 2012.
So why is Clinton rallying voters in the Cornhusker State?
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
Well, according to The Washington Post:
Nebraska is one of only two states that awards part of its electoral votes based on outcomes in congressional districts. The other is Maine.
In Nebraska’s case, two of the state’s five electoral votes go to the statewide winner. That is almost certain to be Trump. The other three are distributed on the basis of performance in Nebraska’s three congressional districts.Â
One of those districts – the 2nd – is more moderate than the rest of the state, giving Clinton an opening to steal an electoral vote from Trump. Obama was able to win the district over McCain in 2008, despite losing the state overall.
Joining the Democratic nominee in Omaha was billionaire Warren Buffet who skewered Trump, particularly on the issue of his tax returns.
Video:
Warren Buffet challenges Donald Trump to show his tax returns, says he's 'afraid.' https://t.co/QJShktYKothttps://t.co/xyoB4UUSvG
— ABC News (@ABC) August 1, 2016
Buffet challenged Trump to release his tax returns: “I would be delighted to meet him any place, anytime between now and election. I’ll bring my tax return, he can bring his tax return. Nobody’s gonna arrest us.”
The billionaire accused the Republican nominee of being afraid to release the documents, saying, “You’re only afraid if you’ve got something to be afraid about.”
Clinton’s appearance in Nebraska is the latest example that the Democrats hope to put in play traditionally conservative areas of the country, and that she is fighting for every last electoral vote.
Just today, in fact, a Landmark/Rosetta Stone poll of Georgia shows Clinton and Trump tied in the state, 45-45. With the minority population in the Peach State topping 40 percent and Trump’s numbers underwater with all non-white voting groups, this is another state where the Democratic nominee could possibly pick off in November.
Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
