Actually, only one Congressional District in Nebraska is a battleground. That is the urban second District. It also has a 16% minority population and a growing Democratic registration.
Nebraska is one of only two states that have a system where their electoral votes can be split. Whoever wins the popular vote in the state gets two electoral votes, while the winner of each Congressional District gets that electoral vote.
The Obama campaign has 15 paid staffers and is about ready to open its second office. Largely through Obama’s efforts 8,500 Democrats have been added to the voter rolls in the second district; Republicans have increased by only 108.
When the Obama campaign opened its office on the first day, 1,113 people showed up to volunteer.
That type of enthusiasm explains why Sarah Palin made an unexpected stop in Nebraska Sunday.
It is simply astounding that Presidential campaigning is going on in Nebraska in October. Lyndon Johnson is the only Democrat to have carried Nebraska in 72 years. He barely edged out Barry Goldwater at that. This is a state that has routinely approached or even exceeded 70% of the vote for Republicans. No Democrat has pulled over 40% of the vote since Johnson’s win and three times the Democratic nominee has received less than 30%. Obama may break that 40% barrier and, in the process, grab a critical electoral vote.
