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January jobs report: Unemployment rate falls to 4%, wages rise more than forecast; Trump signs order imposing sanctions on International Criminal Court over investigations of Israel; Ten Commandments in public schools debate reaches South Dakota; Virginia ranks among worst states for wage theft; Mexican long-nosed bat makes appearance in Arizona.

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Attorney General Pam Bondi strikes a Trump tone at the Justice Department, federal workers get more time to consider buyouts, and an unclassified email request from the White House worries CIA vets.

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During Black History Month, a new book shares how a unique partnership built 5,000 schools for Black students, anti-hunger advocates say ag communities would benefit from an expanded SNAP program, and Americans have $90 billion in unpaid medical bills.

Election reform chatter shadows close NE Senate race

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Monday, November 4, 2024   

Political analysts have been caught off guard by the close polling results for Nebraska's U.S. Senate race.

Just ahead of Election Day, some are wondering if the Independent candidate's campaign approach will turn more heads.

Going into the 2024 campaign, the incumbent Sen. Deb Fischer - R-NE - was expected to coast to re-election in this deep-red state.

But her challenger, Independent candidate Dan Osborn, has pushed poll results to a near tie - also pulling in significant campaign donations.

Osborn is a union leader who declined an endorsement from Democrats.

Wes Dodge, a Nebraska-based attorney and election reform advocate, said Osborn's rise is emblematic of how people feel about the two-party system.

"We just got the way red and the way blue, and that really escalates the acrimony," said Dodge. "And the media finds that good entertainment, but it's not necessarily good government. Good government should be somewhat boring."

For disclosure purposes, Dodge said he is an Osborn supporter but feels a victory for this Independent wouldn't move the needle in a big way.

He said approaches like open primaries and ranked-choice voting are needed first to pave the way for more people without party labels to run.

Skeptics say these different methods could create confusion and dilute the voting power of people without a centrist viewpoint.

The Pew Research Center says ranked-choice voting - which allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference for a single office instead of picking just one - gained momentum among smaller communities before recent adoption by some larger cities and a small number of states, but not at all in Nebraska, yet.

Dodge said he sees it as a way to push aside feelings of disenfranchisement.

"I think a system where over 50% of the people have voted for the people that govern them," said Dodge, "just creates an environment where people feel more vested in the election process."

As for the Nebraska U.S. Senate race, political observers say it comes at a crucial time with control of the upper chamber in Congress up for grabs.

Republicans could wrestle away the Democrats' slim majority - but if Osborn replaces a Republican vote, it could make outcomes for certain policy decisions a little more unpredictable.

Osborn has insisted he wouldn't caucus with either party, if elected.

Support for this reporting was provided by the Carnegie Corporation of New York.




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