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Democrats are targeting a key House pickup in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District, but the outcome could increase the chances of a Republican winning the presidency in 2028.

RINO Congressman Don Bacon is not seeking reelection in November, creating an open race and a major opportunity for Democrats to pick up a tightly contested House seat.

The Democratic frontrunner, state Sen. John Cavanaugh, would be required to give up his seat in Nebraska’s unicameral legislature if elected to Congress.

His replacement would be appointed by the state’s Republican governor, Jim Pillen.

Republicans are currently one seat short of a filibuster-proof supermajority in the legislature.

Should they gain that additional seat, they would have the votes needed to advance legislation without Democratic support.

That could include changes to Nebraska’s congressional maps, potentially making the 2nd District more favorable to Republicans, as well as efforts to eliminate the state’s split Electoral College system.

Nebraska is one of two states that allocates electoral votes by congressional district.

The 2nd District has recently provided Democrats with a single electoral vote, including in the 2024 presidential election, when Kamala Harris carried the district.

In a closely contested national election, that single electoral vote could prove significant.

Without the split system, Nebraska would award all of its electoral votes to the statewide winner.

Democrats believe they can offset any loss by winning additional legislative seats in upcoming elections.

“We’re prepared that we might lose [Cavanaugh’s] seat. So that means we have to pick up a few more this cycle,” Nebraska Democratic Party chair Jane Kleeb told Politico.

In recent years, Democrats have successfully blocked efforts to redraw district boundaries and change how the state allocates its electoral votes.

If Republicans secure a supermajority, those constraints would be removed, allowing them to revisit those proposals ahead of the 2028 election cycle.

Meanwhile, the retirement of Don Bacon is no great loss to the Republican Party.

Last November, Bacon admitted he also resigned from Congress in protest of President Trump’s peace plan for Ukraine.

He denounced the proposal as the “Witkoff Ukrainian surrender plan,” referring to Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, who helped craft it.

However, he said that he intended to honor his “commitment to our constituents to fulfill my term.”

BREAKING: DON BACON, Nebraska Republican, will not seek releection.

JOE BIDEN and KAMALA HARRIS both won the Omaha based seat.

This will become a prime pickup opportunity for Democrats in 2026.

— Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) June 27, 2025

The post One Democratic House Victory in Nebraska Could Hand Republicans the Presidency — Here’s How appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

Rubio decries China’s bullying

Panama’s ships caught between the rock and a hard place.

While the Russia-Ukraine war brings danger to the Black Sea, the military conflicts in the Middle East brought about Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

But we’d do well not to forget about the vital Panama Canal and the geopolitical consequences of Donald J. Trump’s administration shutting China out of its infrastructure.

Last Thursday, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio called out China’s ‘bullying’ for ‘detaining or holding up dozens of Panama-flagged ships’.

Even though the ships were held for a short period of time, it comes as a retaliation after Panama seized control of two ports on the Panama Canal from a Hong Kong-based company.

China denies the bullying allegations.

The US accused China of harassing and detaining Panama-flagged ships after the Central American nation struck down contracts with a Hong Kong conglomerate operating ports on both sides of the Panama Canal. https://t.co/p2NNvtPmRC

— Bloomberg (@business) April 2, 2026

Associated Press reported:

“Panama has been caught in a broader rivalry between the United States and China after U.S. President Donald Trump accused Beijing last year of running the Panama Canal. The Trump administration sees the critical maritime trade route as strategically important, both commercially and militarily, and Trump has talked about retaking the Panama Canal since his campaign.

‘China’s decision to detain or otherwise impede Panama-flagged vessels engaged in lawful trade destabilizes supply chains, raises costs, and erodes confidence in the global trading system’, Rubio said on social media. ‘The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty and will always support our partners in the face of bullying’.”

China’s decision to detain or otherwise impede Panama-flagged vessels engaged in lawful trade destabilizes supply chains, raises costs, and erodes confidence in the global trading system. The United States stands with Panama against any retaliatory actions against its sovereignty…

— Secretary Marco Rubio (@SecRubio) April 2, 2026

No less than 75% of the ships detained for inspection in Chinese ports in March – 92 vessels – were Panama-flagged.

“The Panama-flagged ships were typically detained for a few days — as short as one day or as long as 10 days — before being released.

That is up drastically from the previous two months, when 19 out of 45 ships — or more than 40% — held in February were Panama-flagged, and 23 out of 71 — or over 30% — in January hung the Panama flag.”

Read more:

FBI Warns Congress of ‘Major’ Cyber Hack Involving China That Could Threaten National Security

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