Democrats outpace GOP in Omaha early voting

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By MARGERY A. GIBBS / The Associated Press

OMAHA, Neb. — Nebraska Democrats struggling to make more headway in a solidly red state are getting some good news in the state’s most populous county.

A Douglas County election official says Democrats have been outpacing Republicans in early voting in the state, giving hope to supporters of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Omaha, who is looking to cinch the electoral vote connected to the 2nd Congressional District, which includes Douglas County and Omaha.

Most experts believe Obama has little chance of wresting the state’s four other electoral votes from Republican presidential candidate John McCain. The last Democrat to carry the state in a presidential election was Lyndon Johnson in 1964.

Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that can split their electoral votes.

If Obama won in Nebraska’s 2nd District, he would get an electoral vote.

Since early voting began Sept. 29, hundreds of voters have been turning out in person every day to request early ballots in Douglas County, Neb. — home to more than 303,000 of the more than 1.1 million registered voters in the state, according to county election commissioner Dave Phipps.

Phipps said that number had mostly remained steady at 300 to 400 people a day until the middle of last week.

“But now, it’s been ratcheted up a bit,” he said Monday. “I’d say it’s more like 500 to 700 a day now.”

“As we get closer and closer, that number will get bigger and bigger.”

Forty percent of registered voters in the county are Republicans, while 39 percent are Democrats, Phipps said. However, more Democrats have been seeking to vote early so far this election, he said.

Of those early ballots requests, 16,500 have been from Democrats, Phipps said, while just more than 12,000 have been from Republicans. About 5,000 have come from independents, he said.

“Well, it’s not surprising, because there is a strong Democratic early vote effort going on out there,” said Steve Achelpohl, chairman of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

Achelpohl said it’s hard to tell what’s driving the early push by Democrats in the Omaha area.

“It may be a sign of increased Democratic registrations, particularly in Douglas County,” he said. “It may well be a sign of some targeting efforts that are going on in certain state legislative districts.

“I think it’s certainly a function of Obama’s popularity and the excitement caused by his campaign here in the 2nd District.”

Achelpohl called the early voting numbers “good news” for state Democrats.

A call to Nebraska Republican Party Chairman Mark Quandhal was not immediately returned.

Obama’s Omaha effort is the first in dozens of years by a presidential candidate in Nebraska. Obama’s campaign has sent in 15 paid staffers to register thousands of voters.

If people can be convinced that the 2nd District electoral vote could be crucial to the national outcome, turnout could be driven higher.

Democrats in a couple of other high-profile races in the state are also hoping to capitalize on the Obama push in Omaha.

That includes Democrat Scott Kleeb, who vying for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat with popular former Republican Nebraska governor and U.S. agriculture secretary Mike Johanns. Republican Chuck Hagel decided not to seek a third Senate term.

Also in play is Nebraska’s 2nd District seat, in which Republican Lee Terry is defending his incumbency against Democrat Jim Esch.

Two years ago, Terry beat Esch with 55 percent of the vote in a closer-than-expected race, and the Democrat has returned for a rematch.

This time, Esch has more money, and he’s received a boost from Obama’s efforts in Omaha — including more than $400,000 in campaign ads funded by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.