Why the "blue dots" matter

Democrats are pumping huge sums of cash into Omaha in case they need Nebraska's 2nd congressional district to get Harris to 270 electoral votes.

• The Harris campaign and its outside allies have already spent more than $1 million in the Omaha media market with another $8 million in future bookings, CNN reports from AdImpact data.
• The House GOP-leadership linked Congressional Leadership Fund announced $1.5 million in Omaha spending today, taking them to $4.3 million for the cycle.

Zoom in: If she wins Omaha's electoral vote (Nebraska and Maine allow vote-splitting), Harris can survive Trump sweeping the Sun Belt states of Georgia, North Carolina, Nevada and Arizona.

• She'd still need to hold the "Blue Wall" of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania.

The "blue dots," as seen above, represent Omaha's status as a winnable district for Democrats in a very red state.

• Barack Obama won NE-2 in 2008. Joe Biden won it in 2020.

The bottom line: Omaha's Republican congressman Don Bacon warned Trump to focus on the issues.

• "When you talk about DEI, race, coming up with nicknames, that doesn't play well in this district," Bacon told CNN. "They want to talk about the issues. This is an issue district."