Bacon and Vargas join 2nd District debate on Nebraska Public Media
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., at left, and State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha are running for the 2nd District seat in the Omaha-area. (Courtesy of Photos/House of Representatives and Unicameral Information Office)
OMAHA — Voters in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District will get another chance to see Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon and Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas debate.
How to watch
The Nebraska Public Media debate with its media partners will air on Nebraska Public Media live at 8 p.m. Oct. 8. Check your local listings for the channel. Or click this link to view it live.
Nebraska Public Media announced Wednesday that the candidates would join a debate aired and streamed live at 8 p.m. Oct. 8 at the public broadcaster’s new Ron Hull Studio in Lincoln.
Nebraska Public Media is hosting the debate in partnership with the Nebraska Examiner, the Omaha World-Herald, the Lincoln Journal Star and KRVN Rural Radio Network.
Aaron Sanderford, the Nebraska Examiner’s political reporter, will moderate the hourlong debate. He and other reporters from the participating outlets will question the candidates.
The same group hosted a similar debate Sunday between Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Flood and Democratic State Sen. Carol Blood in eastern Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District.
Competitive race expected
Now the focus shifts to what many political observers describe as the closest federal race in Nebraska, a rematch of the 2022 U.S. House race that Bacon won by about 3 percentage points.
Attacks are already flying between Bacon, a retired Air Force brigadier general seeking a fifth term, and Vargas, a two-term state lawmaker who formerly served on the Omaha school board.
Bacon has framed himself as a conservative willing to invest in national security and infrastructure spending.
He was one of 13 House Republicans who voted in support of a bipartisan infrastructure bill that he has said is helping Nebraska rebuild Eppley Airfield, as well as roads and bridges.
Democrats have attacked Bacon by saying he is more conservative on a number of issues than he likes to portray himself, particularly on reproductive rights and reducing health care costs.
Vargas has painted himself as a fiscally responsible Democrat who voted for tax cuts and property tax relief programs in the state’s Republican-led Legislature.
He has also emphasized his willingness to work in Congress to preserve the Affordable Care Act, which former President Donald Trump has said he would like to repeal and replace.
Republicans have attacked Vargas as a progressive who speaks like a centrist but wants fewer limits on abortions, higher taxes on the wealthy and more government spending.
Issues already rolling in NE-02
New attack advertisements from outside groups hint at issues both campaigns will hit: attacking Vargas on criminal justice reforms and attacking Bacon on opposing abortion rights.
Other ads and campaign statements have signaled that Bacon and Vargas will highlight their differences on immigration, inflationary costs, health care and the future of Social Security and Medicare.
Recent 2nd District polling on the left and right seems to indicate the race is likely to stay within the margin of error, with some showing Bacon ahead and others showing Vargas leading.
Vargas’ campaign has argued that he is likely to benefit from 2024 being a presidential year. Bacon’s campaign has pointed to his results from 2020, when he outpaced Trump in the district.
The Omaha-area seat is the last in Nebraska that Democrats have won, when former State Sen. Brad Ashford beat then-U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., in 2014. Bacon beat Ashford in 2016.
A redistricting change that swapped parts of suburban Sarpy County for all of rural and exurban Saunders County could be a factor, as the new area votes Republican more often.
Much of Bacon’s home turf in Papillion and La Vista was drawn into the nearby 1st District during redistricting, and Douglas County remains home to the most Democrats and left-leaning nonpartisans.
National Democrats have targeted the race as a potential pickup opportunity in the party’s efforts to retake the House, and national Republicans have rallied to Bacon’s defense.
By late June, Bacon had raised $4.3 million and spent $2.1 million on the race, some against a primary challenger to his right. Vargas had raised $3.5 million and spent $1.1 million.
Both campaigns had more than $2 million in cash on hand — $2.5 million for Vargas and $2.2 million for Bacon. Outside groups had already spent more than $1 million on the race, according to OpenSecrets.org, which tracks federal campaign finance filings.
The general election’s first debate between Bacon and Vargas will be at noon Oct. 4 at the Omaha Press Club. It will be hosted by the League of Women Voters and broadcast on WOWT.
The last scheduled debate is at 6 p.m. Oct. 16. It will be hosted by KETV at its studios in downtown Omaha.
Only the Press Club debate will have a live audience.
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