A decisive win by Democrats in hotly contested local races in Lincoln could be indicative of the party’s chances next year — including in a presidential election where Nebraska’s Omaha-centered 2nd Congressional District has twice given an electoral vote to Democratic presidential candidates. Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that allow their electoral votes to be split in presidential elections. That system has confounded Nebraska Republicans, who have been unable to force the state into a winner-take-all system. Democrat Leirion Gaylor Baird handily won a second term as Lincoln's mayor on Tuesday, despite an aggressive push by Republican former Lincoln state Sen. Suzanne Geist. Republican donors pumped more than $1.5 million pumped into Geist's campaign.
