2 weeks Ago
With just four weeks until Election Day, U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon and Democratic challenger Tony Vargas clashed in a pointed debate Tuesday that highlighted their wide ideological differences over taxes, abortion and crime. State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon shake hands after a televised debate in Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. Bacon, a Republican seeking his fifth term representing the 2nd District in the House, came out aggressively from his opening statement, raising questions about Vargas’ record. Soon after, that prompted Vargas, a Nebraska state senator, to comment on a “lack of civility” he attributed to Bacon seeking to cling to his office.
By the end of their second debate, both candidates contentiously accused the other of seeking to mislead voters. “The guy is deceptive, he’s not being honest, (and) he will say anything to win an election,” Bacon said at one point. Vargas decried “the accusations and lies and mischaracterizations you are pushing forward right now.
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The sharp tenor reflected the closeness of the 2nd District race, which is rated by many analysts as a true tossup. On taxes, the two disagreed on whether the 2017 income tax cuts former President Donald Trump ushered in should be extended before they expire next year. Vargas opposed it, saying most of the benefits of the plan accrued “to billionaires and the ultrawealthy.
” He said he wanted to focus on cutting taxes for the middle class. Bacon, who had voted for the Trump tax cuts, said they “absolutely” should be extended, noting they provided significant tax relief to the middle class. U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon, a Republican, speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. “I support tax cuts for the middle class and I support keeping them,” he said. The two clashed sharply over abortion, with Bacon accusing Vargas of being deceptive in saying that Bacon supported an abortion ban with no exceptions.
Bacon three times has signed on to the Life at Conception Act, which by law would declare that the Constitution’s guaranteed right to life would begin at the moment of conception. Bacon said the law does not even mention abortion, and that he considered it more a statement of principle on the sanctity of life. Regardless, Bacon said he is now supportive of the current Nebraska law, which bars abortion after 12 weeks and includes exceptions for rape, incest and the health of the mother.
The states, not Congress, will ultimately determine abortion policy, he said. “I’m going to support the Nebraska law,” he said. Vargas said that Bacon was showing he didn’t understand the implications of giving personhood status to embryos, which he said would result in a complete abortion ban and also threaten invitrofertilization.
“The consequences are clear: this would have banned abortion nationwide,” Vargas said. Now, he said, Bacon is “trying to hide from his position because he knows Nebraskans will hold him accountable.” Vargas criticized the congressman for signing on the Trump-backed effort to change Nebraska’s electoral vote distribution to a winner-take-all system less than two months before the election.
“If he cared about independence, he wouldn’t have signed on to the letter,” Vargas said. State Sen. Tony Vargas, a Democrat, fixes his glasses during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. Bacon said Vargas only likes Nebraska’s split system because it has prompted Kamala Harris to spend $21 million on TV ads in the district, which Bacon said has benefited Vargas and other Democratic candidates down the ballot. “It’s a huge cash cow for his side of the aisle,” Bacon said.
Some of their sharpest clashes came on crime and guns, with Bacon attacking Vargas on multiple fronts. He accused Vargas of standing with protesters rather than the police during the demonstrations that followed the 2020 murder of George Floyd. And he said a juvenile crime amendment Vargas offered has made it harder for authorities to detain juvenile offenders, which Bacon directly attributed to two murders in Omaha.
“When you look at the safety of our streets, Tony has been on the wrong side of the issue,” Bacon said. Vargas repeatedly said he has supported $37 million in increased funding for law enforcement while in the Legislature. And he said after the debate that any crime bill that passed did so with the support of the Republican majority in the Legislature and Republican governor.
Vargas said Bacon’s opposition to what he called common-sense gun legislation is no surprise given the $80,000 he has received from the National Rifle Association. Vargas noted 29 Republicans in Congress supported a gun bill that Bacon opposed. Bacon said when it comes to gun violence, the most effective way to control it “is to keep violent criminals behind bars” and go after illegal gun purchases.
The debate was moderated by Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sanderford and included questions from The World-Herald, Nebraska Public Media and KRVN Rural Radio Network journalists. The candidates’ third and final debate will be Sunday, hosted and broadcast by KETV. Interactive: Need help voting in Nebraska? We've got you covered for the 2024 election Ready, set, vote, Nebraska: Here are the key dates voters should know in the 2024 election Photos: 2nd Congressional District debate between US Rep.
Don Bacon and State Sen. Tony Vargas State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon shake hands after a televised debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. Erin Bamer, Omaha World-Herald reporter, left, Dave Schroeder, KRVN news director, and Kassidy Arena, Nebraska Public Media senior reporter, ask questions as panelists during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sanderford, left, moderates a debate between U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon and State Sen. Tony Vargas at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
State Sen. Tony Vargas speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas fixes his glasses during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner political reporter, moderates a televised debate between U.S.
Rep. Don Bacon and State Sen. Tony Vargas at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District during a televised debate moderated by Aaron Sanderford, Nebraska Examiner political reporter, at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. U.S.
Rep. Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sanderford moderates a televised debate between U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon and State Sen. Tony Vargas at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. State Sen. Tony Vargas and U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024. State Sen. Tony Vargas listens to U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct.
8, 2024 U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas and U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas and U.S. Rep.
Don Bacon debate over issues facing Nebraska's 2nd Congressional District at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon listens to State Sen.
Tony Vargas during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas speaks during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. State Sen.
Tony Vargas reacts during a televised debate at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sanderford moderates a debate between U.
S. Rep. Don Bacon and State Sen.
Tony Vargas at Nebraska Public Media in Lincoln on Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024. cordes@owh.
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