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DEVELOPING: ELECTION OVERVIEW, PRESIDENT, SENATE, CONGRESS, AFFIRMATIVE ACTION, LEGISLATURE, EXIT POLL-NEBRASKA, AMENDMENT ONE, REGENTS, LEARNING COMMUNITY, FBC–NEBRASKA-PELINI TEMPER
ADDS: SLAUGHTERHOUSE-INVESTORS
ELECTION COVERAGE: Note that stories will be led after polls close at 8 CST, 7 MST.
ELECTION OVERVIEW
OMAHA—Nebraska might lose some of its red-state hue as voters streamed to the polls Tuesday. Voting was heavy Tuesday morning, with waits up to an hour reported in some Omaha precincts.
AP Photo.
With:
— VOTING LINES—Voters are lining up outside Omaha polling places.
— FREMONT-MAYOR—The race for mayor in this eastern Nebraska city has drawn only one name to the ballot, but it’s sparked plenty of discussion about illegal immigration.
— WHY THEY WON—Want to know why he won and he lost? Political advertising consultant Jim Crounse will share his insights at an open forum sponsored by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications.
PRESIDENT
OMAHA—The unprecedented effort by Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama could make Nebraska history Tuesday if he shaves off an electoral vote from the state’s 2nd Congressional District. Nebraska’s electoral votes have never been split, and the state has given all five to the Republican presidential candidate since 1964. By Anna Jo Bratton.
AP Photos.
CONGRESS
OMAHA—A 2nd District showdown Tuesday is the Democrats’ best chance of shaking the GOP’s hold on all three of Nebraska’s U.S. House seats. Democrat Jim Esch has fought hard in his rematch with incumbent Republican Lee Terry, who beat Esch by about 9 percentage points in 2006. By Anna Jo Bratton.
AP Photos.
SENATE
OMAHA—Republican Mike Johanns became the instant favorite when he joined the race for U.S. Senate in Nebraska last year. And Democrat Scott Kleeb has been unable to knock Johanns—a popular former governor and U.S. agriculture secretary—out of the favorite position. By Josh Funk.
AP Photos.
AFFIRMATIVE ACTION
LINCOLN—A bitter debate over whether state and local governments should be able to use affirmative action will be settled by Nebraskans on Tuesday. The ballot measure before voters would prohibit state and local governments from giving preferential treatment to people on the basis of race, sex, ethnicity or national origin. It is being pushed by former University of California regent Ward Connerly, who has helped get similar bans passed in California, Michigan and Washington. By Nate Jenkins.
EXIT POLL-NEBRASKA
OMAHA—Exit polls conducted in Nebraska on Election Day are expected to offer a glimpse into why people voted the way they did. By Margery A. Gibbs.
With:
— EXIT POLL-GLANCE-NEBRASKA
LEGISLATURE
LINCOLN—The new blood Nebraskans said they wanted in the state Capitol when approving term limits eight years ago will soon be managing the people’s business without almost any help from old legislative hands. Fifteen of the 26 state legislative seats up for grabs in the general election on Tuesday are occupied by veteran state senators who are being ushered out by term limits. The election will complete a sweep of veteran lawmakers that began in the 2006 election. By Nate Jenkins.
AMENDMENT ONE
LINCOLN—Voters will decide whether cities should have leeway to use more types of tax dollars to help bolster economic development. A proposed amendment to the state Constitution would let governments such as city councils ask local voters for permission to use revenues from sources other than property and sales taxes for economic development. The constitution currently restricts cities and villages to using only general tax revenue for economic development programs. By Nate Jenkins.
LEARNING COMMUNITY
OMAHA—Voters in Sarpy and Douglas counties will elect representatives to govern Omaha-area schools two years after a plan was introduced to split up the Omaha Public School District. Fifty-three people were running for 12 seats on the so-called Learning Community Coordinating Council. The group will oversee a common property tax levy among 11 Omaha-area school districts, and work to encourage achievement and diversity.
REGENTS
LINCOLN—Lincoln attorneys Earl Scudder and Tim Clare are vying for the 1st District seat on the University of Nebraska Board of Regents.
OTHER NEWS:
SAFE HAVEN
OMAHA—The state has confirmed that a 15-year-old girl dropped off at an Omaha hospital is the 27th child left under Nebraska’s unique safe-haven law. A special legislative session to add an age limit to the law remained nearly two weeks away. By Margery A. Gibbs.
BUSINESS:
SLAUGHTERHOUSE-INVESTORS
POSTVILLE, Iowa—The chief executive officer of an embattled kosher meatpacking plant in Postville says he’s optimistic that talks with investors interested in buying at least a share of the company could save the plant from a permanent shutdown. Agriprocessors Inc. CEO Bernard Feldman confirmed that he is in “full-blown discussions” with investors.
SPORTS:
FBC–NEBRASKA-PELINI TEMPER
LINCOLN, Neb.—Nebraska coach Bo Pelini says he’s become concerned about his volatile sideline demeanor and that he needs to watch himself. Television shots during last week’s game at Oklahoma showed an animated Pelini yelling into his headset, at assistant coaches and players and grabbing a player by the face mask. By Sports Writer Eric Olson.
ALSO:
— VOL–ALL-STATE BALLOT—The ballot for The Associated Press All-State Volleyball Team.
— FBC–ALL-STATE BALLOT—The ballot for The Associated Press All-State Football Team.
ALSO GETTING ATTENTION:
— LINCOLN MURDER—New information released by Lincoln police show that officers found a bloody ax and club near the body of a woman believed by police to have been killed by her son.
— WHOOPING COUGH—A western central Nebraska health district has confirmed four cases of whopping cough in the area and is looking into what is believed to be a fifth case.
— BIG TIP—That must be some service. Waiters at an Omaha restaurant were recently treated to an early Christmas bonus—a tip of more than $10,000.
— BODIES FOUND—An investigation is under way into what authorities are calling an apparent murder-suicide in Alliance.
— NORTH PLATTE STANDOFF—A Jan. 27 trial is set for a North Platte man who barricaded himself in an apartment stairwell during a standoff with police.
— HUSBAND ARRESTED—Omaha police have arrested a 58-year-old man suspected of killing his wife in their northwest Omaha home.AP Photo pursuing.
— RAPE ALLEGED—A 20-year-old Lincoln woman is going to prison for sexually assaulting a teenage boy and burglarizing her great-aunt’s home.
— CONCEALED CARRY-SCOTTSBLUFF—Scottsbluff has put more limits on concealed weapons in town.
— DEER DAMAGE—Deer are causing more problems for Nebraskans, and it’s not just on the highways.
The AP, Omaha.
