One Nebraska electoral vote remains up for grabs
BY ROBYNN TYSVER
WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER
The question of whether Barack Obama wins an electoral vote in Nebraska, or whether Republicans hold their lock on the state, may not be answered for days.
Obama and Republican John McCain were locked in a virtual tug of war in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District, with the election too close to call.
McCain led Obama in the 2nd District by 569 votes in unofficial returns, but more than 9,000 early votes and provisional ballots in Douglas County were still to be counted, said David Phipps, election commissioner.
Those ballots — some of which won't be counted until next week — could decide the race, both Republicans and Democrats said today.
"I will remain guardedly optimistic, but I certainly think the vote at this time is in play and in doubt," said Hal Daub, the former Omaha mayor and McCain's state director.
In fact, the 2nd District vote will likely qualify for an automatic recount, said Eric Van Horn, spokesman for the Nebraska Democratic Party.
"We're looking to having every vote counted," said Van Horn.
The 2nd District consists of Douglas County and a sliver of Sarpy County.
The electoral vote in the Omaha-area district was the only one in question. Nebraska's other four electoral votes went to McCain, who won the popular vote statewide and in the 1st and 3rd Districts.
Obama won four of the state's 93 counties: Douglas, Lancaster, Saline and Thurston.
Both Democrats and Republicans hailed the tight 2nd District contest as a good sign.
Republicans said it was an example of the Nebraska GOP being able to "weather the storm" in a difficult political climate. Democrats said it showed that their party had become energized by Obama's presidential campaign.
It assuredly will be a race for the record books.
The fact that Obama even campaigned in Nebraska — a traditional GOP stronghold — will be remembered for years. It already has altered the region's political landscape, serving as a big ego boost to Democrats.
The last time a Democratic presidential candidate won an electoral vote in Nebraska was in 1964, when Lyndon B. Johnson rolled past Barry Goldwater in a statewide landslide.
In 2004, President Bush won the 2nd District with 59 percent of the vote.
This is the first time that a single electoral vote in Nebraska has been contested since the state adopted a split-electoral system in 1991. Nebraska and Maine are the only states that have scrapped the winner-take-all system. (Maine's electoral votes were not split Tuesday.)
In Nebraska, three electoral votes are awarded based on the popular vote in each of the state's congressional districts. The final two go to the candidate who wins the statewide vote.
Tuesday's tight race was a testament to Obama's strong presence in the 2nd District. He opened three offices in Omaha and employed 16 people. He drew scores of volunteers, many of whom flocked to his offices each day to man telephone banks or walk neighborhoods across the city.
"It's been a terrific year. God love the Obama people for coming into Nebraska. The Democratic Party has exploded in numbers because of this year's politics," said Steve Achelpohl, chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party.
The Obama campaign not only energized the party's base, but it also brought hundreds of new voters and volunteers into the system.
For the first time in 14 years, registered Democrats now outnumber Republicans in Douglas County.
Republicans said the tight race was a good reminder that they could not take Nebraska for granted. They also said that it underscored their efficient get-out-the-vote machine.
Obama spent money and resources in Omaha, but McCain did not.
Still, McCain kept it close, even though Republicans have lost registered voters in the district, said Mark Quandahl, chairman of the Nebraska Republican Party.
"In politics, it's not only registered voters, it is getting them out to vote," Quandahl said.
Nebraska was part of Obama's plan to expand the Democrats' electoral map. Obama said he intended to compete in states and regions where previous Democratic presidential candidates never ventured.
McCain never followed suit. Instead, he relied solely on the Nebraska Republican Party to identify his supporters and urge them to vote. His running mate, Sarah Palin, did make an appearance in Omaha.
Several Republicans insiders said the philosophy within the McCain camp was that their time and resources were better spent in battleground states. And if they couldn't keep Nebraska firmly in the GOP column, then McCain had little chance of winning the national election.