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Axios reported on Sunday that Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) has become a “GOP Trump critic” ahead of the 2020 elections. Sasse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and Finance Committees, released a statement after President Donald Trump issued executive orders granting Americans a payroll tax holiday and unemployment insurance after negotiations with leading Democrats fell through. Referring to Trump’s executive orders as “unconstitutional slop,” Sasse said in a statement on Saturday: The pen-and-phone theory of executive lawmaking is unconstitutional slop. President Obama did not have the power to unilaterally rewrite immigration law with DACA, and President Trump does not...

Article II of the Constitution gives states broad authority to decide how their electoral votes are selected and divided among the candidates. In 48 states, the candidate who gets the most votes wins all of the state’s electoral votes. But the Constitution doesn’t require that rule. Maine and Nebraska have implemented district- by-district voting. One electoral vote goes to the winner in each congressional district, and the remaining two electoral votes are awarded to the winner of the statewide popular vote. Assume, however, that a state enacts a law giving all its electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins...

Sen. Ben Sasse, R-Neb., is concerned that more violence is on the way, following last weekend's deadly clash between white supremacy and neo-Nazi groups, and left-wing counter-protesters in Charlottesville, Va. "It feels like violence is coming," Sasse wrote at the end of a long Facebook post Friday evening, titled "The next Charlottesville." "I'm not sure if this moment is like the summer of '67 or not. But it might be. Before that violence strikes again, it's up to us to reaffirm that exceptional American Creed again today, with our neighbors, and in our kids' hearts." Earlier in the online note,...

Omaha, NE—Kara Eastman, the first Omaha Democrat looking to take on freshman Republican Congressman Don Bacon next year, says it is “a little soon” to impeach President Donald Trump. in a wide ranging interview with News Channel Nebraska, Eastman—a member of the Metropolitan Community College board who is little known to most voters—weighed in on Trump, others who might get in the Democratic Primary including former Congressman Brad Ashford, and much more: NCN: The fact that you are getting in shows you feel you are more equipped for Congress than others that might run. What makes you more equipped than...

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) says former Vice President Joe Biden could have easily defeated President Trump if he'd run for president last year. “If Joe Biden would have run against Donald Trump, Biden would have won in a landslide,” Sasse told The New York Times on Wednesday. Asked why Trump won, Sasse said: “I would argue pretty vociferously that’s it’s also because of who his opponent was,” referring to Hillary Clinton. Biden last month voiced regret over not seeking the presidency, predicting he would have beaten Trump if he had earned the Democratic nomination. “I had planned on running for...

Nebraska is the next stop on the campaign trail for the GOP candidates. The Nebraska Republican primary will take place May 10 with 36 delegates at stake. The delegates are awarded in winner-take-all fashion with the candidate with the most votes statewide winning all 36 delegates. There have been no early polls taken in Nebraska but this will likely change in the coming days. PredictWise aggregates the betting markets to project primary winners. They give Donald Trump a 71 percent chance of winning the state while Ted Cruz has just a 29 percent chance of pulling off the upset.

I'm starting to think this guy might not vote for Trump. Skip to 8:50 of the clip below for the interview. You already know where he stands on Trump if you read his Facebook post this morning, but the video's worth watching for a few reasons. One: Although Sasse acknowledges that Super Tuesday and March 15th will be "significant" in deciding the nominee, the unmistakable sense here is that it's going to be Trump and conservatives need to begin preparing for that reality. Is that a fair conclusion to draw? Given this AP report of early voting in Florida, I'm...

WEST DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) - Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin says U.S. Senate hopeful Joni Ernst would bring Iowa's values to Washington, D.C., and is unlike any lawmaker the city has seen. Palin was one of many women in politics to attend the "Heels On, Gloves Off!" rally Sunday to support Ernst, a Republican state senator. Others who attended the rally included Nebraska U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer, former Nebraska Gov. Kay Orr and Iowa Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds. The event was put on by ShePAC...

Jayme Smith and Sarah Palin stand outside La Quinta Inn and Suites on Friday. The trip wasn’t all business for those who supported U.S. Senate candidate Ben Sasse on his campaign tour through North Platte on Friday. Kay Orr, the former Republican governor of Nebraska, admitted to sneaking in a little early morning shopping at Herberger’s. “My husband always tells me I don’t have to support every local economy,” Orr said with a laugh. Another featured guest, former Alaska governor and vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, took advantage of the beauty services North Platte has to offer. Jayme Smith, cosmetologist...

Sarah Palin already announced her support for US Senate candidate Joni Ernst. Now Palin is joining her on the campaign trail. The former vice presidential candidate will stump for Ernst at a rally in West Des Moines as part of a ShePAC event that aims to support, honor and elect conservative women. The “Heels On, Gloves Off” event is set for April 27th. Lieutenant Governor Kim Reynolds, Senator Deb Fischer of Nebraska and former Nebraska Governor Kay Orr will also attend the event.

The Republican Party and the Tea Party hold different views regarding the future of U.S. conservatism. A distinct way to understand this split is by looking at the leaders of each party. For example, Sen. John McCain has been a notable establishment Republican for years. Contrarily, the Tea Party looks up to people such as Sen. Ted Cruz, a Republican from Texas, and former Alaskan governor and vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Palin leads this political movement along with Cruz – who had a hand in shutting down the government last fall. There are two very different styles of leadership...

Sarah Palin heaped praise Saturday on Deb Fischer, the Republican running against Bob Kerrey for one of Nebraska's seats in the U.S. Senate. Palin had just eaten lunch with Fischer and was taking a look at items in the La Vista Cabela's, talking with a couple customers and signing a man‘s cap. She called Fischer a “hard-working, very grounded, down-to-earth, patriotic American woman.” Palin, the Republican vice presidential candidate four years ago, said that as a Nebraskan, Fischer knows agriculture and could “help common-sense, constitutional Americans.” “We need more of that when it comes to regulation and policy,” Palin said...

The Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund is hopping into the Nebraska Senate race and has supported the pro-life candidate who is looking to take the seat currently held by Ben Nelson, who upset pro-life voters with his Obamacare support. The national pro-life political action committee today announced its endorsement of Deb Fischer for U.S. Senate in Nebraska. “Deb Fischer is a fighter for unborn children and their mothers. Her record in the Nebraska state legislature is one of fighting passionately for pro-life, pro-woman policies,” said Susan B. Anthony List Candidate Fund President Marjorie Dannenfelser. “On the other hand, the...

LINCOLN — Deb Fischer ran a stealth campaign. The state senator from Valentine who scored one of the biggest upsets in Nebraska political history Tuesday started to surge in the polls at the perfect time — early enough to win and too late for her opponents to respond. Fischer, who raised a paltry $440,000 to front-runner Jon Bruning’s $3.6 million, is now in position to become the second woman ever elected to the U.S. Senate from Nebraska, if she defeats Democrat Bob Kerrey in the fall. A third was appointed. She took her first poke at Kerrey shortly after taking...

A Palin-backed underdog snatches the GOP Senate nomination from the favorite, and Mama Grizzly's endorsement may very well have put Fischer over the top... The Republican establishment was reeling in Nebraska this week, after a little-known but respected state senator, Deb Fischer, pulled off a stunning upset in the GOP Senate primary. Fischer became the instant favorite in her red state over Democrat Bob Kerrey, a former senator and governor. Until just days before the Tuesday vote, Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning was expected to cruise to the GOP nomination, and his only apparent threat was from state Treasurer Don...

At the very least, the Republican Party base’s revolt against its own establishment cost the GOP a 50-50 Senate tie in 2010, with primary voters forcing unelectable nominees on the party in three races that it had otherwise been on course to win. A decent case can be made that the uprising actually cost Republicans outright Senate control. And now the same thing may be happening all over again, with Nebraska joining a growing list of unexpected 2012 Senate battlegrounds – at least for the moment. The impetus is the surprise victory of Deb Fischer, a little-known state legislator, over...

Deb Fischer has picked up a major endorsement, as former Vice Presidential Nominee Sarah Palin backs the Valentine rancher for U.S. Senate. Fischer said she was honored to be endorsed by the former Alaska governor and her husband Todd Palin. "I greatly admire their willingness to stand on conservative principle and their resolve in standing up to the political establishment," Fischer said. The two-term state senator is running for U.S. Senate and poll numbers released by her campaign show she may be closing the gap with Attorney General Jon Bruning and State Treasurer Don Stenberg. Bruning has picked up big...

First lady Michelle Obama, making campaign stops in Nebraska and Iowa on Tuesday, boosted her husband's credentials while appearing to make small contrasts with his likely rival Mitt Romney, lauding President Barack Obama's core set of values and relaying stories of his modest upbringing. Appearing alongside Warren Buffett in Omaha, Nebraska, Michelle Obama touted the White House-backed provision named for the billionaire investor, which would place a minimum 30% tax on Americans making more than $1 million a year. The "Buffett Rule" was blocked in the Senate last week. In explaining the president's commitment to helping Americans who are struggling,...

A PAC controlled by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) is back on the air in Nebraska with an ad supporting state Treasurer Don Stenberg (R). DeMint's Senate Conservatives Fund will spend an initial $234,000 to air the ad for most of March on statewide cable and broadcast television. The bio spot follows another ad DeMint aired for Stenberg in January. All told, DeMint's PAC has spent almost one-half million dollars supporting Stenberg, with plans to sink much more into the race. "Don Stenberg's a conservative leader who's won battles for smaller government, spending cuts, the death penalty, term limits," says the...

As the country celebrates President’s Day, Nebraska Governor Dave Heineman (R) is at odds with a majority of Americans who have said Sarah Palin is not qualified to run the country. A CNN poll in late 2009 found 70 percent saying she’s not qualified, 28 percent said she is. In an exclusive on camera interview (see video below) with Nebraska Watchdog, Heineman said Palin has the resume and credentials necessary to be the leader of the free world. Palin and several other Republicans have said they are looking at the race but so far no one is officially running. In...