It all started when an Omaha couple got out some spray paint to create a yard sign with a big blue dot — symbolically expressing their hope that Democrat Kamala Harris can claim the single Electoral College vote in the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District.
But when the Dundee-area neighbors of Jason Brown and Ruth Huebner-Brown and other passers-by saw the simple, wordless sign, they started asking for one, too. And the demand just spiraled from there.
In fewer than two weeks, the couple has produced and distributed more than 400 of the homemade blue-dot signs, and are now in the process of making thousands more.
“It’s just blown up,” Brown said as he painted another sign Tuesday in the backyard of his home near 51st Avenue and Farnam Street.
Ruth Huebner-Brown, left, and Jason Brown pose with the first blue dot sign they made and posted in the front yard of their Dundee neighborhood home. People saw their sign and requested their own, leading to the couple to produce hundreds.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
The grassroots political movement is an example of how Nebraska’s unique system of awarding three of its five presidential electoral votes by congressional district has turned the state into a 2024 election battleground.
Harris and former president Donald Trump's campaigns are competing this fall for the electoral vote in 2nd District, traditionally a political swing district. There are even realistic scenarios, should the presidential election be super close, in which the 2nd District could become the electoral vote that decides the 2024 election.
“Not only is it an honor to vote, it's a privilege in Nebraska because of how unique our allocation is,” Brown said.
Nebraska as a whole is a solidly red state that hasn’t voted Democratic in a presidential election since 1964.
But since 1992, Nebraska has used its split system. And in the previous four presidential elections, Democrats and Republicans have split the 2nd District's Electoral College vote.
Republicans Mitt Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016 took it along with the state's four other electoral votes, two for the other congressional districts and two for winning statewide. But Democrats Barack Obama in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020 claimed the 2nd District, giving rise to the nickname for eastern Nebraska as the "Blue Dot" on the electoral map.
There have been efforts by Republicans as recently as this year to change back to the same winner-takes-all system used in every other state except Maine. But Nebraska’s split system remains in place.
Now the 2nd District is one of just a handful of political battlegrounds that together will decide the 2024 election. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists the single Nebraska district this year as lean Democratic in the presidential race, while it lists the rest of the state as solid Republican.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have been spending thousands of dollars on advertising in the district.
While the extent of Trump’s on-the-ground campaign here is unclear, the Democrats for months have had full-time staff working out of Omaha field offices. They've been rounding up volunteers, canvassing and phone-banking in hopes of getting Harris voters to the polls this year.
The campaigns’ efforts could make a difference.
If Harris were to win the Midwest states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and Trump prevails in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, winning the 2nd District could swing the election to Harris.
Ryan Horn, a Republican political consultant who works in both Washington and Nebraska and owns a house in Dundee, said polling he saw suggested the 2nd District was a tossup when the race was a 2020 re-run between Biden and Trump.
He said Harris’ replacement of Biden at the top of the ticket clearly has injected new life into the Democratic campaign. He called the organic blue dot signs “emblematic of this new energy in the Democratic base.”
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The signs' creators, Brown and Huebner-Brown, grew up on farms in rural Nebraska, he near McCook and she near North Platte. Both have been lifelong Democrats and been active politically since they moved to Omaha in 2003.
Earlier this year, they were backing Biden’s reelection, but they admit they became much more enthusiastic when Biden dropped out and endorsed his vice president to replace him. The couple had supported Harris when she first ran for president in 2019, meeting her five times when she campaigned in Iowa and getting their picture taken with her.
The couple said they were watching former first lady Michelle Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention last month when she urged Democrats to “do something” to help Harris win. That sparked a conversation about what they could do.
The next day, Brown went to the garage and found an old yard sign from a lawn service and some spray paint. He painted the sign white, used a flower pot as a stencil to paint a big blue dot, and planted the sign in the front yard.
Almost immediately, neighbors started asking for their own blue dots. The couple ordered materials to make 10 more, even though they weren’t sure there was enough interest for that many.
“How little did we know,” Brown said.
All were quickly claimed. Then they started getting requests from their neighbors’ friends and from people just walking by.
They ordered materials to make 100 signs. Then 100 more. Then 200 more.
Jason Brown uses spray paint to create another blue dot sign on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
The signs have proliferated on their block, spread to other streets in Dundee and are now scattered in other neighborhoods in both Douglas and Sarpy counties.
The couple funded the first signs themselves and then began asking for donations of $10 to cover the cost of buying more materials.
In all, they’ve now ordered enough materials for 2,400 signs. Word is also spreading online, including through a Facebook page called “Blue Dot Energy.”
“The factory is running,” Brown said as he used a bucket as a stencil to create another sign and then laid it out to dry. He made 50 signs Tuesday afternoon that quickly were claimed off his front porch.
He continues to produce them manually with spray paint, but acknowledged if things continue to grow as they have been, the couple may need to look to start printing signs.
The couple also plans to distribute blue dot signs Saturday, September 14 at a block party rally they are hosting for Tony Vargas, the Democrat who is challenging 2nd District Republican Rep. Don Bacon.
The signs are getting media attention, too. The couple was interviewed by CNN Tuesday for a segment to air later that night.
What the couple most love about the signs is how — without any words — they have gotten people talking about the campaign and the importance of getting involved. They have also helped people understand the important role Omaha could play in this election.
“This isn't just about how many blue dots can we get out,” Huebner-Brown said. “It's about how many conversations we can have. How many people can we get registered or canvassing or writing postcards? How many people can we get involved? That's the goal.”
But when the Dundee-area neighbors of Jason Brown and Ruth Huebner-Brown and other passers-by saw the simple, wordless sign, they started asking for one, too. And the demand just spiraled from there.
In fewer than two weeks, the couple has produced and distributed more than 400 of the homemade blue-dot signs, and are now in the process of making thousands more.
“It’s just blown up,” Brown said as he painted another sign Tuesday in the backyard of his home near 51st Avenue and Farnam Street.
Ruth Huebner-Brown, left, and Jason Brown pose with the first blue dot sign they made and posted in the front yard of their Dundee neighborhood home. People saw their sign and requested their own, leading to the couple to produce hundreds.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
The grassroots political movement is an example of how Nebraska’s unique system of awarding three of its five presidential electoral votes by congressional district has turned the state into a 2024 election battleground.
Harris and former president Donald Trump's campaigns are competing this fall for the electoral vote in 2nd District, traditionally a political swing district. There are even realistic scenarios, should the presidential election be super close, in which the 2nd District could become the electoral vote that decides the 2024 election.
“Not only is it an honor to vote, it's a privilege in Nebraska because of how unique our allocation is,” Brown said.
Nebraska as a whole is a solidly red state that hasn’t voted Democratic in a presidential election since 1964.
But since 1992, Nebraska has used its split system. And in the previous four presidential elections, Democrats and Republicans have split the 2nd District's Electoral College vote.
Republicans Mitt Romney in 2012 and Trump in 2016 took it along with the state's four other electoral votes, two for the other congressional districts and two for winning statewide. But Democrats Barack Obama in 2008 and Joe Biden in 2020 claimed the 2nd District, giving rise to the nickname for eastern Nebraska as the "Blue Dot" on the electoral map.
There have been efforts by Republicans as recently as this year to change back to the same winner-takes-all system used in every other state except Maine. But Nebraska’s split system remains in place.
Now the 2nd District is one of just a handful of political battlegrounds that together will decide the 2024 election. The nonpartisan Cook Political Report lists the single Nebraska district this year as lean Democratic in the presidential race, while it lists the rest of the state as solid Republican.
Both the Trump and Harris campaigns have been spending thousands of dollars on advertising in the district.
While the extent of Trump’s on-the-ground campaign here is unclear, the Democrats for months have had full-time staff working out of Omaha field offices. They've been rounding up volunteers, canvassing and phone-banking in hopes of getting Harris voters to the polls this year.
The campaigns’ efforts could make a difference.
If Harris were to win the Midwest states of Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, and Trump prevails in Arizona, Nevada and Georgia, winning the 2nd District could swing the election to Harris.
Ryan Horn, a Republican political consultant who works in both Washington and Nebraska and owns a house in Dundee, said polling he saw suggested the 2nd District was a tossup when the race was a 2020 re-run between Biden and Trump.
He said Harris’ replacement of Biden at the top of the ticket clearly has injected new life into the Democratic campaign. He called the organic blue dot signs “emblematic of this new energy in the Democratic base.”
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | RSS Feed | SoundStack | All Of Our Podcasts
The signs' creators, Brown and Huebner-Brown, grew up on farms in rural Nebraska, he near McCook and she near North Platte. Both have been lifelong Democrats and been active politically since they moved to Omaha in 2003.
Earlier this year, they were backing Biden’s reelection, but they admit they became much more enthusiastic when Biden dropped out and endorsed his vice president to replace him. The couple had supported Harris when she first ran for president in 2019, meeting her five times when she campaigned in Iowa and getting their picture taken with her.
The couple said they were watching former first lady Michelle Obama speak at the Democratic National Convention last month when she urged Democrats to “do something” to help Harris win. That sparked a conversation about what they could do.
The next day, Brown went to the garage and found an old yard sign from a lawn service and some spray paint. He painted the sign white, used a flower pot as a stencil to paint a big blue dot, and planted the sign in the front yard.
Almost immediately, neighbors started asking for their own blue dots. The couple ordered materials to make 10 more, even though they weren’t sure there was enough interest for that many.
“How little did we know,” Brown said.
All were quickly claimed. Then they started getting requests from their neighbors’ friends and from people just walking by.
They ordered materials to make 100 signs. Then 100 more. Then 200 more.
Jason Brown uses spray paint to create another blue dot sign on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024.
CHRIS MACHIAN, THE WORLD-HERALD
The signs have proliferated on their block, spread to other streets in Dundee and are now scattered in other neighborhoods in both Douglas and Sarpy counties.
The couple funded the first signs themselves and then began asking for donations of $10 to cover the cost of buying more materials.
In all, they’ve now ordered enough materials for 2,400 signs. Word is also spreading online, including through a Facebook page called “Blue Dot Energy.”
“The factory is running,” Brown said as he used a bucket as a stencil to create another sign and then laid it out to dry. He made 50 signs Tuesday afternoon that quickly were claimed off his front porch.
He continues to produce them manually with spray paint, but acknowledged if things continue to grow as they have been, the couple may need to look to start printing signs.
The couple also plans to distribute blue dot signs Saturday, September 14 at a block party rally they are hosting for Tony Vargas, the Democrat who is challenging 2nd District Republican Rep. Don Bacon.
The signs are getting media attention, too. The couple was interviewed by CNN Tuesday for a segment to air later that night.
What the couple most love about the signs is how — without any words — they have gotten people talking about the campaign and the importance of getting involved. They have also helped people understand the important role Omaha could play in this election.
“This isn't just about how many blue dots can we get out,” Huebner-Brown said. “It's about how many conversations we can have. How many people can we get registered or canvassing or writing postcards? How many people can we get involved? That's the goal.”
'Blue Dot' signs popping up around Omaha, a nod to the Electoral College battle
An Omaha couple's spray-painted yard sign with a blue dot has turned into hundreds of signs produced and distributed, symbolically expressing hope that Democrat Kamala Harris can claim the single
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