Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., visited Nebraska Wednesday to encourage the state to change how it allocates its electoral votes, NBC News reported.
Nebraska is one of two states, along with Maine, that awards electoral votes by congressional district rather than winner-take-all. Nebraska has voted Republican statewide for president since 1968, though the district that represents Omaha often goes to Democrats.
Graham, acting on behalf of former President Donald Trump's campaign, met with Republican Gov. Jim Pillen and Republican legislators, urging them to call a special legislative session to change the state's electoral votes to winner-take-all, NBC News said, giving Trump an extra electoral vote.
If Nebraska changed its rules and Vice President Kamala Harris won Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, but lost every other swing state, Trump and Harris would finish tied with 269 Electoral College votes and each state delegation in the House of Representatives would determine the president, which currently favors Republicans.
Pillen was receptive to Graham's overtures and said he would call a special session if he thought he had the votes, a source told NBC News.
"As I have consistently made clear, I strongly support statewide unity and joining 48 other states by awarding all five of our electoral college votes to the presidential candidate who wins the majority of Nebraskans' votes," Pillen said in a statement last week. "As I have also made clear, I am willing to convene the Legislature for a special session to fix this 30-year-old problem before the 2024 election."
Supporters said they do not have the votes to overcome a procedural hurdle that has prevented the bill from passing, NBC News reported. A previous effort failed earlier this year.
Maine's Democrat state House majority leader said the state would consider switching its electoral votes to winner-take-all if Nebraska changed its system. Maine is expected to vote for Harris.