Harris leads Trump by 8 points in key Nebraska district: Survey

Vice President Harris is leading former President Trump in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District by 8 points, according to a new survey.  

The poll, commissioned by GOP firm Remington Research Group, shows Harris with 50 percent support compared to Trump’s 42 percent in the eastern district encompassing the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. The lead is outside of the poll’s margin of error.

Third-party candidates, meanwhile, received little support in the area. Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. garnered just 2 percent support; Cornell West earned 1 percent and Jill Stein and Chase Oliver each received less than 1 percent, per the poll.

The survey also showed the vice president with a higher favorability rating among respondents than the former president. 

Harris, who replaced President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket in late July, brought in 50 percent favorability while 46 percent found her unfavorable, according to the poll, first obtained by the Nebraska Examiner. Trump had a 42 percent favorability rating while 53 percent found him unfavorable.

The voters in the district represented by Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) also said they trust the vice president slightly more on the economy — 47 percent to Trump’s 46 percent. The Democratic nominee, however, trails the former president on inflation and immigration, two top issues for voters ahead of November, per the survey.

Around 46 percent of likely voters said they trusted the GOP nominee to tackle inflation, while 45 percent put their trust in Harris. On immigration, Trump received 46 percent support compared to the vice president’s 44 percent. 

The results of the poll are notable considering Nebraska splits its five Electoral College votes. Two of them are statewide while the other three are connected to the state’s three congressional districts and are handed to the winner of the popular vote in those districts. 

The former president has tried to change Nebraska to a “winner-take-all” system. The effort failed in early April despite the backing of Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-Neb.).

Maine is the only other state that splits its votes. Maine House Majority Leader Maureen Terry (D) threatened to switch to a “winner-take-all” Electoral College format in late April if Nebraska were to change the way it distributes electoral votes. 

The Remington Research Group survey was conducted Aug. 14-17 among 656 likely voters. The margin of error was 3.8 percentage points.