Published: 4 September 2020
Last updated: 4 March 2024
THE STATE OF NEBRASKA is home to approximately 10,000 Jews, who make up less than 1 percent of the state’s total population. This small Jewish community, much smaller than the communities of neighbouring states such as Missouri and Colorado, is now being targeted by the presidential campaign of Joe Biden, who hopes that Jewish support will help him win a crucial Electoral College vote in the so-called Cornhusker state.
On Monday, the Biden campaign will host an online event for the state’s Jewish community, part of a series of events that highlight the campaign’s focus on winning Jewish votes across the country. The event will include a speech by Rabbi Steven Abraham, who leads a Conservative synagogue in Omaha, and other local Jewish leaders. Biden’s team is using rallies like this not just to spread its messaging among the Jewish community, but also to recruit volunteers ahead of the November 3 election.
Nebraska is a reliably “red” state, and there is no doubt that a majority of the votes cast there will be for President Donald Trump. But Nebraska is also one of only two states, together with Maine, that split their Electoral College votes based on their congressional districts.
The state’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes the capital Omaha and its suburbs, is much more competitive than in the state as a whole: It narrowly backed Barack Obama and Biden in the 2008 election, and Trump barely won there in 2016, despite carrying the entire state by a margin of 25 percent.
FULL STORY From Omaha to Florida, Biden bets on Jewish votes to deliver victory (Haaretz)
Photo: A voter preparing to cast her mail-in voter ballot in East Tampa, Florida, August 16 (Octavio Jones/Reuters)
