Omaha’s blue dot goes to Kamala Harris, but GOP House candidate leads

Nebraska’s split electoral votes have created a now-famous blue dot in the middle of America in recent elections. Congressional District 2, that dot, split when it was declared for Vice President Kamala Harris, but incumbent Republican Rep. Don Bacon leads in the U.S. House race.

Douglas County is home to Omaha, the largest city within the blue dot. The Douglas County, Nebraska Election Commission will be counting roughly 8,000 ballots on Friday, Nov. 8, most of them from early voting that came in on Monday, Nov. 4, and just before the polls closed on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

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The blue dot became somewhat of a focal point with the television networks, the major newspapers and political sites in the run-up to the presidential election.

Nebraska is a state that splits its electoral votes. Congressional District 2, in the traditionally red state of Nebraska, is where Democrats have made inroads in recent elections with Barack Obama winning it in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020.

National pundits presented various scenarios in which the electoral college and the path to 270 had Kamala Harris at 269, needing one electoral vote to push her over the top and win the election. Democrats in Omaha held out hope it would be them and the blue dot.

Harris lost the election, but she did win the blue dot’s one electoral vote. According to the Nebraska secretary of state, she garnered 51% of the vote to Donald Trump’s 47.5%, a margin of about 11,000 votes.

Now, Republicans are counting on District 2 to help them keep control of the House of Representatives. Incumbent Rep. Don Bacon, R, is seeking a fifth term. He leads Democratic challenger Tony Vargas by 8,000 votes. Vargas had hoped to flip the seat from red to blue.

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Bacon declared victory in Nebraska District 2 and said the blue dot should now be called the “Bacon dot.” Vargas has refused to concede, saying every vote needs to be counted.