Sasse easily won re-election in the safe red state of Nebraska on Tuesday, leading his Democratic opponent by nearly 30 points with 85 percent of the vote in. But President Trump has not fared so well; in fact, he lost the vote in Nebraska’s Second Congressional district, and since Nebraska, like Maine, divides its Electoral College votes by district, that means Joe Biden gets an elector from Nebraska. And for that, Biden can thank Sasse, who next to Mitt Romney is the sitting Republican senator who has been most outspokenly critical of President Trump. Such criticisms have no impact nationally, but in Sasse’s home state, where he’s popular enough to win with two-thirds of the vote, his complaints about Trump matter. They matter enough to help Biden win an elector.
The Biden camp sees several possible paths to the White House after the former vice president’s disappointing performance on Tuesday. Most begin with winning Wisconsin, where the president’s lead on election night was slender. After that, any one of four states can give Biden enough electors to become president.
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