RFK Jr., Tulsi Gabbard and Tim Walz descend upon Nebraska's 'blue dot'
(This story was updated to add new information.)
OMAHA—With just over two weeks until the November election, Republicans and Democrats are campaigning for every last vote in Nebraska’s coveted 2nd Congressional District, where a win could provide a crucial single electoral vote for either side.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Democratic U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, now part of former President Donald Trump’s transition team, and Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz campaigned within miles of each other on Saturday, both sides making their case to voters.
A Nebraska native who grew up and spent most of his life in rural parts of the state, Walz spoke to a crowd of 1,400 supporters at an outdoor amphitheater in Papillion, an Omaha suburb. He emphasized the state’s importance in this election, highlighted his local roots and gave a shout-out to his sister, Sandy Dietrich, who was in the audience.
“Do the math, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Minnesota, and the rest of the states. 269, one dot makes a difference,” Walz said.
Maine and Nebraska are the only states with a split vote system where electoral votes are allocated to the winner in individual districts. For example, in Nebraska, two of the five electoral votes are awarded to the candidate who wins the most votes statewide. The other three go to the winners of each of the state’s three congressional districts.
Although the Cornhusker State is deep red, the 2nd Congressional District has gone to Democrats twice, including former President Barack Obama in 2008 and President Joe Biden in 2020, creating the term “blue dot.”
Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin served as a “blue wall” for Democratic candidates for a generation. But in 2016, Trump narrowly carried all three, in an upset victory over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Four years later, Joe Biden won the presidency after reclaiming Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania for Democrats, while also notching surprising victories in Georgia and Arizona, two states that had historically voted Republican.
If Trump wins Arizona, Georgia, Nevada and North Carolina, the Electoral College vote could end in a 269-269 tie, and the winner needs 270. A single electoral vote in Nebraska could change that, provided no other states deliver surprising results.
Across town, RFK Jr. and Gabbard attended a moderated conversation at a Hilton in downtown Omaha. While discussing why they both left the Democratic party and propped up Trump’s policy proposals, they also stressed the significance of the state on Election Day.
“It could still end up 269 -269. Kamala Harris needs to win Nebraska’s second,” RFK Jr. said. “Your votes are the most important votes in the United States of America.”
An environmental lawyer, anti-vaccine activist and son of the former senator, he initially ran as a Democrat and then as an independent in October before dropping out of the race altogether and endorsing Trump. This was his first time back on the campaign trail since his mother, Ethel Kennedy, died on Oct. 10 at the age of 96.
Gabbard, a former Democratic presidential candidate and member of Congress, switched parties in 2022 after declaring the Democratic leadership as “an elitist cabal of warmongers driven by cowardly wokeness.” In August, she endorsed Trump for president.
Monica Kruger, 64, of Omaha, attended Walz’s rally with a group of her high school friends. Along with reproductive rights, she says a top issue this election for her is the U.S.’s support of Ukraine, as she tutors a girl who lives there.
“Some of the things that have been coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth suggest he would just turn over Ukraine to Putin, and her life has already been so horrifically impacted,” Kruger said. “I’m here for her as well as for my daughter and my granddaughter.”
Although both crowds cheered for different candidates and campaign platforms, they agreed on Omaha’s importance in this year’s election.
Kruger and her friends are cautiously optimistic about the outcome of the election, but believe that their vote will make a difference.
“For so many years, our state, it’s been bright red our whole lives,” Kruger said. “That was just so incredible to feel like you can make a difference at the national level.”
Republican voter Marcus Bales from Bellevue initially supported Kennedy but switched to backing Trump after Kennedy dropped out of the race. Bales agrees with Trump’s proposed policies and feels positive about the election. He also noted an increased presence of both campaigns in the area.
“There is a lot of back and forth between Trump and Kamala Harris in the district,” Bales said.
As of Oct. 16, according to a New York Times public poll tracker, all seven battleground states were in a virtual dead heat. Trump held a narrow 2-percentage-point lead in Arizona; the other six swing states were all within a point on average, the tracker showed.
The race appears even closer than the 2020 contest. That year, a shift of only 43,000 votes in three states—less than one-third of a percentage point of all voters nationwide—from Biden to Trump would have been enough for Trump to win reelection.
Reuters contributed to the reporting of this story.