GOP governor halts push to prevent Trump from losing one of Nebraska's electoral votes

An effort to prevent Donald Trump from losing a potentially crucial electoral vote from Nebraska appeared dead Tuesday after the state's Republican governor said he's not planning to push for the necessary change in state law ahead of the November presidential election.

Gov. Jim Pillen said that a proposal to alter how Nebraska would allocate its five electoral votes does not have the two-thirds majority it would need to pass and take effect in time. Pillen issued a statement the day after a Republican state senator said he wouldn't support such a measure ahead of the Nov. 5 election.

Only Nebraska and Maine split their electoral votes, awarding two each to the winner of the statewide vote and one to the winner in each congressional district. Republicans have carried Nebraska in every presidential election since 1964, but in 2020, Democrat Joe Biden won the electoral vote for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District in the Omaha area — ousting Trump from the White House.

The former president appeared resigned for now to having to fight for a fifth electoral vote from Nebraska.