It appears the GOP plan to make Nebraska a winner-take-all state may not work out.
This article (gift link) in the NYT reports on State Senator Mike McDonnell (R) and how he is not onboard with making the change.
For those who don’t want to read the article, McDonnell is a former Democrat who recently changed parties and is planning a run for mayor of Omaha when his term ends in the Senate. He is term limited so he has no need to fear losing reelection and realizes going along with the GOP switcheroo would likely hurt his chances of getting elected Mayor.
In some sense, the Democrats share the blame for the conundrum. Mr. McDonnell, a firefighter by trade and a union leader, had once been a firm blue-collar Democrat, but his Catholic faith and social conservatism led him to support Republican bills that restricted most abortions as well as transition-related care for transgender minors.
The Nebraska Democratic Party punished him in March with a censure. Then in April, he switched parties and changed the balance of power in Lincoln, where Democrats had been able to use the Legislature’s filibuster rule effectively.