Omaha, Nebraska is 1,665 miles from Bangor, Maine. Culturally, they're worlds apart: white-collar Omaha is becoming more cosmopolitan while northern Maine is well-known for its blue-collar independent streak. But they could also be the story of the 2016 election in a nutshell. Omaha and Bangor share a unique distinction: they anchor congressional districts that will be critical battlegrounds in the fights for both the House and the Electoral College. Maine and Nebraska are the only two states that award their electoral votes on a congressional district basis They'e also home to vulnerable House freshmen - one Democrat and one Republican - who pulled off two of the biggest upsets of 2014. Rep. Brad Ashford (NE-02) became the first Democrat to be elected to the House from Nebraska since 1992 when he bucked the GOP wave and beat unpopular GOP Rep. Lee Terry 49 percent to 46 percent. His mirror image may be Rep. Bruce Poliquin (ME-02), who became the first Republican to be elected to the House from Maine since 1994 when he captured an open seat over Democrat Emily
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