With the primary election about nine weeks away, two Republicans and two Democrats are in the race to represent the Omaha-based 2nd Congressional District.
Incumbent Republican Don Bacon is seeking his fourth term in Congress. Bacon, a retired brigadier general in the U.S. Air Force, defeated Democratic Rep. Brad Ashford in 2016 and has been reelected twice.
Despite former President Donald Trump’s call for a Republican challenger against Bacon, the congressman’s only opposition in the May primary is a political newcomer and self-described “absolute nobody,” Steve Kuehl of Gretna. A second Republican challenger, Jim Schultze, had entered the race but dropped out before the filing deadline on March 1.
The GOP primary winner will take on the Democratic winner, either State Sen. Tony Vargas or Alisha Shelton.
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Vargas was first elected to represent District 7, which covers southeast and downtown Omaha, in the Legislature in 2016. He was reelected in 2020 and cannot seek a third consecutive term because of term limits.
Before becoming a state senator, Vargas was appointed to the Omaha Public Schools board in 2013.
Shelton, a mental health practitioner, previously sought the Democratic nomination to run against Republican Sen. Ben Sasse in 2020. She received the state Democratic Party’s backing after the winner of the primary lost the party’s support.
Chris Janicek, an Omaha baker, had won the nomination but faced a furor over explicit comments he made about a staffer. Janicek never dropped out of the race and his name appeared on the ballot, but the party’s state central committee voted to replace him with Shelton. Sasse won handily.
The candidates are vying to represent the 2nd District, a swing district where both Democrats and Republicans are competitive. In the last four presidential races, 2nd District voters backed Democrat Barack Obama in 2008, Republican Mitt Romney in 2012, Republican Trump in 2016 and Democrat Joe Biden in 2020.
In that 2020 election, some 2nd District voters apparently split their tickets, voting Biden for president and Bacon for Congress. That helped Bacon defeat his Democratic challenger, Kara Eastman, by several percentage points and secure a third term in Congress, even as Biden won the district and its one Electoral College vote.
Redistricting done last year changed the makeup of the 2nd District. It now includes Saunders County, western Sarpy County and all of Douglas County, including Omaha.
Even with the redrawn map, Biden would have claimed the 2nd District’s Electoral College vote, according to a World-Herald analysis.
Randall Adkins, a University of Nebraska at Omaha political science professor, said it’s hard to know how the new boundaries and a new swath of voters will play in this year’s congressional race.
“I just don’t think we know until we’ve gone through it the first time,” Adkins said. “And then we can get a better sense.”
Adkins and Elizabeth Theiss-Morse, a University of Nebraska-Lincoln political science professor, both said a major factor in the upcoming election is Biden’s low approval ratings. Historically, the incumbent president’s party usually loses seats in the midterm election.
“Not only do the Democrats have an uphill battle with a redrawn district, they also have an uphill battle with a pretty unpopular president right now,” Theiss-Morse said.
Adkins said Democrats will have to find ways to challenge Bacon in a year that should be good for a Republican.
The Cook Political Report, which rates congressional races, considers the 2nd District race as “likely Republican.”
Theiss-Morse and Adkins also both predicted that the economy will likely be a big issue this election cycle as voters think about inflation, supply chain issues and how much they’ve having to pay for goods and services.
“I think a lot of people are going to end up being pocketbook voters this year,” Adkins said.
Heading into the primary, Bacon has more money than any other candidate in the race. He had $977,664 in the bank entering 2022, according to fundraising reports. He raised about $727,947 in the final quarter of 2021.
Kuehl, Bacon’s challenger, entered the race in late February and has not filed a fundraising report yet.
On the Democratic side, Vargas had the most cash on hand entering the year with $440,108, compared to $89,184 for Shelton.
Vargas also raised more money than her in the final quarter of 2021: $301,557 to $86,702.
When asked why he was running for reelection in an interview, Bacon gave a short answer: “I love my country.”
He added that he believes the country needs his national security experience and his ability and willingness to work across the aisle. Bacon noted the Common Ground Committee, a nonpartisan group that opposes political polarization, rated him best in the nation for his willingness to work with others.
Bacon welcomed his challenger into the GOP race. But he said he’s comfortable going into the May primary based on what his own polls are showing, despite the former president’s criticism of him for voting for the Biden administration’s infrastructure bill.
Trump issued a statement in January asking: “Anyone want to run for Congress against Don Bacon in Nebraska?”
Asked about Trump’s criticism, Bacon said he’s not a yes man and will instead do the right thing for his district and the people he represents. He said he believes voters like that he’s a conservative but also independent minded.
Democrats have disagreed with that assessment and on a website called “Flip that Bacon,” the Nebraska Democratic Party accuses Bacon of caring “more about pleasing his party leadership than the hard-working Nebraskans who elected him.”
Nebraska GOP Chairman Dan Welch has called Bacon “a rock solid conservative, who has proven to be a strong voice for Nebraska.”
Bacon has picked up endorsements from prominent Republicans all across the state including Gov. Pete Ricketts, Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert, former Gov. Dave Heineman, numerous state senators and local elected officials.
He has also been endorsed by the Omaha Police Officers Association.
Kuehl, Bacon’s challenger, is a sales consultant at White Castle Roofing. He said in an interview that he has the utmost respect for Bacon and wasn’t aware of Trump’s call for someone to challenge the congressman.
“I’m an absolute nobody and I’m ok with that,” Kuehl wrote on social media after entering the race. “What I’m not ok with is that ordinary and good people never getting a seat at ‘their’ table. It’s not ‘their’ table, we bought the table and are paying all the bills in the house.”
Kuehl said he realizes he likely doesn’t have a chance to beat Bacon but said he’s running because he can give an honest voice to ordinary Americans.
On the Democratic side, Vargas and Shelton both said their upbringings inspired them to run for Congress.
Vargas’ parents immigrated to the United States from Peru and worked hard every day to give their children opportunities that were not available to them, the state senator said.
Among the first generation of his family to earn a college degree, Vargas moved to Omaha in 2012 as his wife pursued a law degree.
Nebraskans deserve access to affordable health care, jobs with living wages that actually support families and affordable prescription drugs, Vargas said.
“What we’ve seen and what I hear is that people are struggling,” Vargas said. “Washington isn’t working for regular people. We’re feeling it at the gas pump and at the grocery store, in their paychecks, it doesn’t seem like there’s actual relief in sight.”
Vargas said he’s running because he believes during his time in elected office he’s led with hope, idealism and actually trying to solve problems. He said while the country is divided, he believes it can be different.
Vargas has been endorsed by Bob Kerrey, who served as governor and U.S. senator from Nebraska.
Shelton moved to Omaha at age 12 and was raised by a single mom with seven siblings. She is an Omaha Public Schools graduate.
“As a mental health therapist, someone who has worked across this district in numerous roles and capacities, I want to stand up for the people I talk to every day, for the people who I love who live here, for all families,” Shelton said.
Shelton said she supports increasing the minimum wage and having a study done on a regular basis to understand when it’s time to increase it again. She also said she wants to expand affordable health care, lower prescription drug costs and have a plan and action on climate change.
Shelton said she believes in public schools and does not believe in school choice. She said the 2nd District needs an advocate who will be in the community and understand what happens in the district.
Shelton has been endorsed by Eastman, who lost twice to Bacon.
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