Bacon pushes back on county GOP endorsement talk with some of his own

U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., thanks about 50 elected Republicans for supporting his reelection campaign. He announced their support Monday at Memorial Park in Omaha. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

OMAHA — U.S. Rep. Don Bacon flexed the political muscle of eight years of relationships with state and local elected officials Monday, rolling out 100-plus endorsements to push back against populists in the state and county Republican parties who support his opponent.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, Secretary of State Bob Evnen, Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, Douglas County Attorney Don Kleine and State Sens. Kathleen Kauth and Tom Brewer joined about 50 other elected Republicans attending Bacon’s event at Memorial Park. 

Bacon’s endorsement rollout came as the populists who took over the leadership committee of the Douglas County Republican Party plan to hold a meeting Tuesday to discuss endorsing his opponent in the May primary election, Omaha businessman Dan Frei.

Some members of the county party want to flip the county party’s previous endorsements of GOP congressional incumbents, including Bacon and U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts. Populists also took over the local GOPs in Sarpy and Saunders Counties.

Aiming at general election

But on Monday, Pillen, Hanson, Kauth and Brewer trained their fire on Bacon’s possible general election foe, Democratic State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha, not on the populists or Frei. They talked about the need to back Bacon and about his record.

Pillen called Bacon a “workhorse,” not a “show pony,” crediting his work with the rest of Nebraska’s congressional delegation to preserve and protect U.S. Strategic Command and the national security and economic benefits of having the base nearby.

“Don Bacon has to win,” Pillen said. “He has to represent the State of Nebraska and District 2…. It’s incredibly important for our country and our liberties. Don Bacon believes in blue. He believes in our security … and he’s a fiscal conservative.”

Kauth, of Omaha, lauded Bacon’s support for her legislative effort to limit high school sports participation and locker room access to a person’s sex at birth and his opposition to abortion when it might be politically expedient to say something else.

“What I’ve been most impressed with about Don is when I disagree with him on something, or I read in the media a headline, and I think, ‘Wait, what is he doing?’ I call his office or I call Don and I get an explanation and I say, ‘Oh, now I get it.'”

Those attending a press conference shared why they back Bacon, a four-term GOP incumbent. Several attacked Vargas, who has represented a South Omaha district in the Legislature.

Emphasis on national security

Brewer, a veteran representing north-central Nebraska, said he appreciated Bacon’s military service, including at Offutt Air Force Base, and the priority he places on national security needs, including military aid for Ukraine.

“The events that are going to transpire in the future, I think, will help folks understand the impact of Don’s actions and others trying to make sure that that country is able to stay free,” Brewer said of Ukraine.

Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen discusses his reasons for supporting U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., during a Bacon campaign event in Omaha. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)

Douglas County Sheriff Aaron Hanson, a former leader of the Omaha police union, repeated an attack that Bacon and the union have used against Vargas, criticizing him for defending protesters after the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police.

An internal poll by his campaign that was shared with the Examiner indicated he was leading Frei, 69%-19%, with 11% undecided and a 4.9% margin of error. The landline and cell phone survey of 400 likely GOP primary voters was conducted April 14-16. 

“We’ve worked hard for this district, and I’ve stood with the conservatives and our priorities in Washington,” Bacon said.

Both the Bacon and Vargas campaigns have shared polls in recent weeks showing them leading in a likely general election contest. Frei’s campaign has said it would not spend money on polling and is focused on contacting voters face-to-face and digitally. 

Frei shares endorsement

On Monday, Frei’s team touted an endorsement of its own, announcing that he had been individually endorsed by Eric Underwood, the Nebraska Republican Party chairman. The state party’s central committee separately voted in January to endorse Frei.

None of the five members of the state’s all-GOP congressional delegation sought the state party’s endorsement this year. Party leadership changed hands in 2022, in part because of interest in more aggressively supporting former President Donald Trump.

Dan Frei, a Republican candidate for the 2nd District U.S. House seat (Courtesy of Frei for Congress)

“Dan Frei has shown a desire to not only be a Constitutional and Platform Republican, but he also believes in the America First movement,” Underwood said in a statement. “He believes in the people of Nebraska and desires to work with my administration to unify our party around our shared values.”

Frei also touted his endorsements from four former chairmen of the Douglas County GOP: Glenn Freeman, Jon Tucker, Bryan Baumgart and Scott Petersen.

In a statement, Frei said too many elected officials go to Washington, D.C,. and vote against their constituents’ principles and values. He said “the people have an opportunity to stand up for Nebraska and reject that type of politician.”

Vargas’ campaign manager, Meg Mandy, criticized the Bacon gathering as “a weak attempt to “try to manufacture support that Bacon clearly doesn’t have.”

“The truth is it doesn’t matter who makes it out of this primary,” Mandy said. “Bacon and Frei will both sell out Nebraska families to push their MAGA agenda.”

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