<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">In presidential election years, an area of deep-red Nebraska nicknamed the “blue dot” can draw plenty of attention. The state awards an Electoral College vote to the winner in each of its congressional districts, and its lone swing district could decide an exceptionally close White House race.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Now the district, which includes Omaha, is getting a turn in the spotlight in this year’s midterm primaries. Representative Don Bacon, a moderate Republican who has held the district for nearly a decade, is retiring, and Democrats competing to replace him have crowded into the race.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Although the district has long been in Republicans’ hands in Congress, it has gone to Democrats in three of the last five presidential races, giving it its nickname.</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">One of the main issues animating this year’s Democratic primary is a suggestion that a victory by a leading candidate could ultimately spell an end to the blue dot’s unique role in presidential contests. Here’s why, and what else you should know ahead of the primary on Tuesday:</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="ImageBlock-3"><div data-testid="imageblock-wrapper"><figure aria-label="media" class="img-sz-medium css-d754w4 e1g7ppur0" role="group"><div class="css-1xdhyk6 erfvjey0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-figure"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Image</span><div class="css-nwd8t8" data-testid="lazy-image"><div data-testid="lazyimage-container" style="height:257.77777777777777px"></div></div></div><figcaption class="css-gbc9ki ewdxa0s0" data-testid="photoviewer-children-caption"><span class="css-jevhma e13ogyst0">Yard signs with blue dots sprouted in Omaha-area yards in 2024.</span><span class="css-iwa86d e1z0qqy90"><span class="kyt-mdd4r">Credit...</span><span><span aria-hidden="false">KC McGinnis for The New York Times</span></span></span></figcaption></figure></div></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-2"><div class="css-53u6y8"><h3 class="css-xbcl5e e1gnsphs0" id="link-1c1defe3"><span>What is the blue dot?</span></h3><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The blue dot refers to the speck of blue on the map that the Omaha-area Second Congressional District can create when it votes for Democrats in presidential elections.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The nickname took off in 2024, as blue dots popped up on yard signs, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/23/us/elections/omaha-nebraska-kamala-harris.html" title="">light poles and T-shirts</a>.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/05/us/politics/omaha-nebraska-harris.html" title="">district went</a> for Kamala Harris in 2024, Joseph R. Biden Jr. in 2020 and Donald J. Trump in 2016. Mitt Romney won the district in 2012. Barack Obama’s <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/01/us/politics/blue-dot-for-obama-prompts-red-nebraska-to-revisit-electoral-college-rules.html" title="">victory there</a> in 2008, the first by a Democrat in four decades, caused some to call the area “Obamaha.”</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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