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Nebraska should support the Democrat whose win won’t erase its ‘blue dot’

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by Jessica Mackler, opinion contributor - 04/25/26 1:00 PM ET

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by Jessica Mackler, opinion contributor - 04/25/26 1:00 PM ET

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Members of the Nebraska delegation hold up “USA” signs on the second day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 20, 2024. (Photo by EVA HAMBACH/AFP via Getty Images)

Democrats are in a strong position to retake the U.S. House this November and reclaim the presidency in 2028. But one congressional race could complicate that path.

For decades, Nebraska Republicans have had their sights set on overturning the state’s electoral vote system, which awards two electoral votes based on total statewide tallies, and one to the winner of each of its three congressional districts. It’s their scheme to neutralize the ‘blue dot‘ that is Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District — a critical swing state electoral vote that delivered for Kamala Harris in 2024.

Nebraska state Sen. John Cavanaugh (D) is running to represent Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional district in the U.S. House. If he succeeds, he will hand Gov. Jim Pillen (R) the power to appoint a replacement to his state Senate seat through 2028 — securing the last vote Republicans need to eliminate Nebraska’s unique, split-electoral vote system once and for all before the next presidential election.

Republicans’ latest effort to convert Nebraska to a “winner-takes-all” electoral vote system failed by just two votes in April 2025. But state Sen. Merv Riepe (R), who cast one of the votes against the bill, made clear that was only because: “Winner-takes-all is not a 2025 issue. It’s an issue for 2028.”

Pillen has doubled down, promising to “work with allies in the Legislature to get this done in time for the 2028 election.”

With another vote to fall in line with their supermajority, Nebraska Republicans won’t only have the power to take away the blue dot’s electoral vote ahead of the next presidential; they could also gerrymander it out of existence, turning one of the most competitive districts in Congress into a safe Republican stronghold. Retiring Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) has admitted himself that both national and state Republicans are discussing efforts to make Nebraska the next stop in their partisan gerrymandering war.

To put it simply, if Cavanaugh advances through the primary and wins, this district could turn red for decades to come. We could lose the very last district where Democratic competitiveness currently exists in Nebraska. And Democrats would need to win four additional electoral votes beyond traditional blue states in order to win the 2028 presidency.

Hundreds of thousands of women would be forced to face the consequences. Pillen has repeatedly vowed to “end” abortion altogether, pushing to further restrict the state’s harsh 12-week abortion ban after his effort failed by only two votes in 2023. With a Republican replacement in Cavanaugh’s seat, he’ll be one step closer.

Some may think that one electoral vote won’t swing presidential elections. But we need to look no further than Republicans salivating over this opportunity to eliminate the blue dot to know that it is true. President Trump himself called on Nebraska lawmakers to eliminate the blue dot in 2024, amid his own concerns that the state’s one electoral vote would decide the current presidency.

The stakes are much too high to simply cross our fingers and hope for the best.

Nebraskans, luckily, have a stronger option to fight for them in Congress without endangering our bid for the White House in 2028. Denise Powell, a mother and small business owner, is uniquely equipped to win this race and turn this seat blue.

After Trump’s first inauguration, Powell founded Women Who Run Nebraska, helping hundreds of women put their names on the ballot, win elections and fight back against his agenda. As an organizer, she’s worked to pass statewide ballot amendments that stopped extremists from passing an abortion ban in Nebraska and protected public school funding that thousands of families and children across the state rely on.

Republicans have shown us the extremes they will go to when they are in power — eliminating social safety nets, kicking millions off of their health care insurance and skyrocketing utility and grocery costs for the majority of us in order to help their billionaire allies. We need a leader who will fight back with the same ferocity they are attacking everyday Americans with.

Powell is that leader, running for Congress to take on MAGA extremism, defend Nebraskans against pow