“The Run Up”: ‘Nebraska Was Minding Its Business Until Charlie Kirk Came Along’

Right now, President Biden’s clearest path to re-election in November seems to run through the middle of the country.

Here’s what that would look like: Mr. Biden wins the key battleground states of Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Michigan — plus the other states that usually go blue — and it brings him to 269 electoral votes, just one vote shy of securing the presidency.

And that’s where Nebraska comes in.

Nebraska is one of just two states that distributes electoral college votes proportionally rather than with a winner-take-all approach. That means that, even though it’s a largely conservative state, Nebraskans sometimes still give one of their five electoral votes to a Democrat, as they did for Mr. Biden in 2020.

This year, Nebraska and the up-for-grabs nature of that one electoral vote has caught the attention of the right-wing commentator Charlie Kirk, former President Donald Trump and his supporters. In recent weeks, they’ve mobilized and are throwing Nebraska’s unique electoral system into flux.

On “The Run-Up” this week: A story about the electoral college, the power of right-wing media and the ongoing fight over who gets a voice in U.S. elections.

“The Run-Up” is your guide to understanding the 2024 election. Through on-the-ground reporting and conversations with colleagues from The New York Times, newsmakers and voters across the country, our host, Astead W. Herndon, takes us beyond the horse race to explore how we came to this unprecedented moment in American politics. New episodes on Thursdays.

“The Run-Up” is hosted by Astead W. Herndon and produced Caitlin O’Keefe, Elisa Gutierrez and Anna Foley. The show is edited by Rachel Dry and Lisa Tobin. Engineering by Sophia Lanman and original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Pat McCusker, Diane Wong and Elisheba Ittoop. Fact-checking by Will Peischel.

Special thanks to Paula Szuchman, Sam Dolnick, Larissa Anderson, David Halbfinger, Renan Borelli, Mahima Chablani, Jeffrey Miranda and Maddy Masiello.