- Republican Rep. Don Bacon is running for reelection against Democrat Tony Vargas in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election.
- The district covers all of Douglas County, which includes the city of Omaha.
Incumbent Republican Rep. Don Bacon faces off against Democrat Tony Vargas in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District election.
Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District candidates
Bacon, a veteran of the Air Force, currently sits on the House Agriculture Committee and the House Armed Services Committee. He was first elected in 2016 and has held onto the seat despite a series of close races.
Vargas is a member of the Nebraska Legislature. Prior to running for office, he was a public school teacher and also worked in nonprofits.
Voting history for Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District
Nebraska's 2nd District covers all of Douglas County, the city of Omaha included, and a portion of Sarpy County.
In the 2020 presidential election, the district voted for President Joe Biden over President Donald Trump by a margin of 6.5 percentage points. The district was one of nine that voted for Biden over Trump in the election despite being represented by a Republican.
The money race
According to OpenSecrets, Bacon has raised more than $3.6 million, spent $3.3 million, and has about $432,000 of cash still left to spend, as of October 19. His opponent, Vargas, has raised just over $3 million, spent 2.8 million, and has more than $313,000 of cash on hand as of October 19.
As of late October, several dozen super PACs, national party committees, politically active nonprofits, and other non-candidate groups have together spent about $10 million to advocate for or against candidates in this race, including during the race's primary phase.
What experts say
The race between Bacon and Vargas is rated as a "toss-up" by Inside Elections, a "Republican toss-up" by The Cook Political Report, and "leans Republican" by Sabato's Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia Center for Politics.