Don Bacon Victory

Bacon Secures Fifth Term Representing Nebraska’s Second District

Recently, the winners to represent Nebraska's Omaha-based 2nd District were announced. After a hard fought battle between Republican Don Bacon and Democrat Tony Vargas, Bacon emerged victorious. The results for the votes came three days after voting polls closed. 

Bacon successfully overcame a significant challenge from Democratic state Senator Tony Vargas in their rematch for the congressional seat representing the Omaha area, following their previous rivalry in 2022. This latest victory marks another win for Republicans, who remain optimistic about maintaining their majority in the U.S. House. In contrast, Democrats are still searching for pathways to reclaim control and are requesting assurances that every vote will be counted. Following the election, Bacon held a news conference where he declared his victory and committed to serving the needs of both Republican and Democratic constituents, emphasizing the almost even political divide in the district.

Vargas initially chose not to back out in the closely contested race, as approximately 15,000 ballots remained to be counted in Douglas County, which has a higher number of registered Democrats than Republicans. On Friday afternoon, the Douglas County Election Commission reported that over 9,000 of the outstanding ballots had been tallied, showing a slight advantage for Vargas. However, this was insufficient to close the nearly 3 percent gap behind Bacon that was recorded on Election Day.

On Friday, Vargas backed out of the race against Bacon. This happened not long after the new vote count was released, as the results did not align with his campaign’s expectations. According to Vargas, his campaign goal was to help families and create a community. Vargas stated, “Throughout my career, I have collaborated across party lines to support parents, seniors, and students, and I will persist in that endeavor.” Vargas had anticipated that a huge amount of support for the Democratic presidential ticket would help him win the electoral vote tied to the district. Contrary to the anticipation, the backing for Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz, originally from Nebraska, did not translate into victory for Vargas.

Due to the mixed and moderate makeup of the district, both Bacon and Vargas distanced themselves from their respective parties. This was done in order to sway the large amounts of independent, third party voters in their favor. The district has been known in the past to lean more to the left, despite the efforts of Republicans to redraw it back in their favor.

by Robert Tengker