2026-05-12T10:00:51.713Z / 美国有线电视新闻网（CNN）
作者：杰夫·泽莱尼
2小时前
发布于 2026年5月12日美国东部时间早上6:00
马里奥·塔马/盖蒂图片社/档案照片
内布拉斯加州将于周二迎来初选投票日，该州选民将决出一场分歧严重的国会民主党初选，这场初选有望成为今年秋季全美竞争最激烈的选举之一，或将影响国会控制权的归属。
内布拉斯加州已有十年未向国会输送民主党议员，但众议员唐·培根的退休决定使其所在的奥马哈地区选区成为11月的关键战场。培根是全美仅有的三位在卡玛拉·哈里斯2024年获胜的选区中胜出的共和党议员之一。
然而，有关11月拿下共和党席位的讨论，很大程度上让位于一场激烈的民主党初选争论：哪位候选人会捍卫还是危及所谓的“蓝点”——这一称呼源于该州独特的总统选举人团投票分配方式。
这场初选的两位领先民主党候选人——约翰·卡瓦诺和丹尼斯·鲍威尔——获得了全国最多的关注，一场耗资数百万美元的广告大战围绕“蓝点”的命运、堕胎权以及其他少数议题主导了选战讨论。
但选民同时也在权衡另外四位候选人的参选资格，其中包括获得奥马哈市长约翰·尤因背书的道格拉斯县地区法院书记员克里斯塔尔·罗兹，以及海军退伍军人、前退伍军人事务部助理副部长基什拉·阿特金斯。
这场人数众多的初选仅在民主党阵营中展开，将于周二进行投票。
玛杰里·A·贝克/美联社
共和党方面已清空参选阵营，奥马哈市议员布林克尔·哈丁将无对手竞争共和党提名。唐纳德·特朗普总统已背书哈丁，这场对决将检验总统在第二国会选区的受欢迎程度——特朗普在该选区连续两次选举中失利，而该选区正是“蓝点”选举人团票的归属地。
民主党内部围绕内布拉斯加州这一独特议题的争执，与全美其他竞争激烈的初选选区的意识形态斗争截然不同。据广告影响追踪机构AdImpact的数据，这场争斗吸引了大量利益集团的外部资金投入，仅广告费用就超过600万美元。
鲍威尔认为，如果选举州参议员卡瓦诺进入国会，将威胁到该州第二国会选区被俗称为“蓝点”的选举制度，因为卡瓦诺将无法再阻止共和党修改州选举法、将内布拉斯加州变为像其他48个州一样的“胜者全得”选举人团分配制度。
玛杰里·A·贝克/美联社
两个外部进步超级政治行动委员会已在奥马哈的电视广告时段投入超过100万美元，以宣传鲍威尔的观点：如果卡瓦诺当选国会议员并辞去州议员职务，共和党州长吉姆·皮伦将任命一位支持废除所谓“蓝点”制度的人士填补其州议会席位。
作为回应，卡瓦诺也投放了广告，称其对手为“黑暗资金资助的丹尼斯”。
他的竞选团队和盟友在选区内各处张贴庭院标语，承诺“对抗特朗普，捍卫蓝点”。上个月，六名同僚州参议员联署致选民的公开信，称这些攻击具有误导性，并表示民主党有望在其他州议会选举中获胜，以平衡卡瓦诺席位可能带来的影响。
内布拉斯加州和缅因州是全美仅有的两个按国会选区划分选举人团票数的州，而非采用全州范围内“胜者全得”的分配方式。根据该制度，全州范围内的获胜者将获得两张选举人团票，其余选举人票则按每个选区的领先得票者分配，每个选区一张。
特朗普2016年赢得了内布拉斯加州全部五张选举人团票，但在2020年和2024年的选举中仅赢得四张。由于担心选举人团出现269票对269票的平局局面，特朗普及其盟友发起了最后一搏，试图修改内布拉斯加州的选举法。尽管最终未能成功，但这一努力最终变得毫无意义，因为特朗普以312票对226票击败了哈里斯。
曾运营名为“女性参选内布拉斯加”的政治行动委员会的鲍威尔，此次是首次参选公职。在广告中，她将自己描述为“一位愤怒的母亲”。
卡瓦诺出身于奥马哈的知名民主党家族。他的父亲曾于1977年至1981年代表该第二国会选区担任国会议员。他的姐姐玛凯拉 currently serves in the state legislature.（注：原文此处为“serves in the state legislature”，按要求保留原内容，翻译为“现任州议员”）
已故众议员布拉德·阿什福德是最后一位在该内布拉斯加席位任职的民主党议员，他仅担任了一届任期，并于2016年连任竞选时输给了培根。
Nebraska’s ‘blue dot’ at the center of red-hot Democratic primary race
2026-05-12T10:00:51.713Z / CNN
By Jeff Zeleny
2 hr ago
PUBLISHED May 12, 2026, 6:00 AM ET
A man waves a “Blue Dot” sign in Omaha, Nebraska, in October 2024.
Mario Tama/Getty Images/File
Nebraska takes its turn on the primary calendar Tuesday as voters settle a divisive Democratic congressional primary in a race that is poised to become one of the nation’s most competitive contests this fall that could help determine control of Congress.
It’s been a decade since Nebraska sent a Democrat to Congress, but Rep. Don Bacon’s decision to retire turned his Omaha-area district into a key November battleground. Bacon was one of only three Republicans in the country who won in a district that Kamala Harris also carried in 2024.
Yet talk of picking up a Republican seat in November has largely taken a back seat to a spirited Democratic primary over which candidate would protect – or imperil – the so-called blue dot, a feature of the state’s unique method of awarding electoral votes in presidential elections.
Two of the leading Democratic candidates in the race – John Cavanaugh and Denise Powell – have gained the most national attention as a multimillion-dollar advertising war over the fate of the blue dot, abortion rights and a handful of other issues have dominated the conversation.
But voters are also weighing the candidacies of four other rivals, including Crystal Rhoades, clerk of the Douglas County District Court endorsed by Omaha Mayor John Ewing, and Kishla Atkins, a Navy veteran and former deputy assistant secretary of Veterans Affairs.
The crowded primary exists solely on the Democratic side on Tuesday.
Denise Powell speaks at a fundraising event in Omaha, Nebraska, on April 16.
Margery A. Beck/AP
Republicans cleared the field in their race, with Omaha city councilman Brinker Harding running unopposed for the Republican nomination. President Donald Trump endorsed Harding, setting up a contest that will measure the president’s popularity in the 2nd Congressional District, where Trump has lost two straight elections – and the blue dot’s Electoral College vote.
The Democratic quarreling over a unique state issue in Nebraska stands apart from the ideological fights in other competitive primary races across the country. The fight has attracted a deluge of outside spending from interest groups, with more than $6 million in advertising alone, according to AdImpact.
Powell argues that electing Cavanaugh, a state senator, to Congress would threaten the blue dot that the state’s 2nd Congressional District has colloquially become known as because he could no longer fight against Republican efforts to change state election law and make Nebraska a winner-take-all system like 48 other states.
Nebraska state Sen. John Cavanaugh speaks at an office in Lincoln, Nebraska, on April 10.
Margery A. Beck/AP
Two outside progressive super PACs have invested more than $1 million on the Omaha airwaves seeking to amplify Powell’s argument: If Cavanaugh is elected to Congress and gives up his position in the state legislature, Republican Gov. Jim Pillen would fill the seat with someone who would vote to eliminate the so-called blue dot.
In response, Cavanaugh has aired ads of his own, calling his opponent “Dark Money Denise.”
His campaign and allies have planted yard signs across the district vowing to “stand up to Trump and defend the blue dot.” Six fellow state senators signed an open letter to voters last month, saying the attacks were misguided and Democrats were likely to win other legislative races to offer a counterweight to his seat.
Nebraska and Maine are the only two states in the country that divide Electoral College votes by congressional district, rather than a statewide winner-take-all formula. Under the system, the statewide winner receives two electoral votes, and the rest are split, one apiece, among the leading vote-getters in each district.
Trump won all five Nebraska electoral votes in 2016, but won only four in his races in 2020 and 2024. Fearful of the prospect of a 269-269 tie in the Electoral College, Trump and his allies mounted a last-ditch effort to change the Nebraska law. It was not successful, but it proved to be a moot point as Trump defeated Harris 312-226.
Powell, who previously operated a political action committee called Women Run Nebraska, is seeking elected office for the first time. In ads, she describes herself as “one pissed-off mom.”
Cavanaugh hails from a prominent Democratic family in Omaha. His father represented the 2 nd District in Congress from 1977-1981. His sister, Machaela, serves in the state legislature.
The late Rep. Brad Ashford is the last Democrat to serve in the Nebraska seat, which he held for a single term. He lost reelection to Bacon in 2016.
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