Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) defeated his Republican primary challenger on Tuesday, setting Nebraska’s sole swing district up for a competitive general election that could shape the 2024 presidential contest, as well.
The Associated Press called the 2nd Congressional District’s race at 9:23 p.m. Eastern with Bacon receiving 70.2% of the vote with 40% of votes counted. His competitor, businessman Dan Frei, received 29.8% when the race was called. This was Frei’s second attempt at a congressional seat in the Cornhusker State after he ran unsuccessfully against then-Republican Rep. Lee Terry Jr. in 2014.
Bacon, like the other four members of Nebraska’s congressional delegation, ran without the endorsement from the state Republican Party. However, it did not appear to make a difference in Tuesday’s race, with Bacon receiving 18,689 votes to Frei’s 7,937 when the race was called.
With Bacon’s primary win, he will face off against Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas in the general election in November. He and Vargas have competed against each other before in 2022, when Vargas narrowly lost to Bacon by fewer than 6,000 votes.
The 2nd District could serve as a lynchpin for the 2024 presidential race, in which former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are expected to face each other again. Nebraska is one of two states, the other being Maine, that awards electoral delegates proportionally.
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In 2020, Biden received the most votes in Bacon’s 2nd District and won one of Nebraska’s five electoral votes despite the state typically voting Republican in presidential elections. Allies of Trump, including Gov. Jim Pillen (R-NE) and other state legislators, pushed for a switch to a “winner-take-all” system. However, they were unsuccessful by the time the state legislature finished its session.
Under the current system, two electoral votes are awarded to the statewide winner and the vote winner in each of the state’s three congressional districts is awarded one vote. This method could push Biden over the finish line in the event of a tie, as the 2024 election is expected to come down to a handful of votes, worrying Trump and his allies that even a Republican stronghold such as Nebraska could produce a Democratic candidate in the end.
