Nebraska 2: Without Bacon, Are Republicans Cooked?
June 30, 2025 · 6:21 PM EDT
Don Bacon’s decision not to seek re-election upends the race for his Omaha, Nebraska-based district, which is the most Democratic seat currently held by a Republican. Vice President Kamala Harris finished ahead of President Donald Trump in the 2nd District by 4 points, 51-47 percent.
Bacon, a genial Air Force veteran and outspoken member of the GOP’s more moderate flank had been a thorn in the side of Democrats in Nebraska and Washington, DC ever since flipping the 2nd District in 2016. A top target in 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024, Bacon withstood millions of dollars in attack ads and unfavorable political environments to grind out tough wins against multiple opponents.
An open seat race, the first in the 2nd District since 1998, presents Democrats with their best chance of flipping the district and getting one step closer to the three-seat net gain needed to win back the majority. Bacon’s retirement also rockets this district to the top of the list of competitive races this cycle, and makes this race a toss-up.
The last time either party successfully defended an open seat won by the loser of the previous presidential election was 2002. Among open seats, Republicans won every Trump-won district in 2022, Democrats won every Clinton-won district in 2018, Republicans won every Romney-won district in 2014 and McCain-won district in 2010, and Democrats won every Kerry-won district in 2006.
In 2002, Republicans won three open seats that Al Gore won in 2000: Nevada’s 3rd, Georgia’s 12th, and Pennsylvania’s 6th districts.
Party strategists on both sides of the aisle anticipate contested primaries ahead of next year’s race.
On the Democratic side, political organizer Denise Powell and state Sen. John Cavanaugh are already in the race. Two other candidates, Douglas County Clerk of the District Court Crystal Rhoades and former Veterans’ Affairs Deputy Assistant Secretary Kishla Askins, could also run. Less traditional candidates such as former Nebraska football standout Tony Veland have also had their names floated.
Cavanaugh comes from one of the most politically prominent families in Nebraska; his father represented the 2nd District in the 1970s, his sister serves with him in the state legislature and his uncles have held various Douglas County offices.
Powell was the first to enter the race and has backing from former state Sen. Tony Vargas, the Democratic nominee in 2022 and 2024. She announced raising $215,000 in her first day in the race, a significant sum for a first-time candidate that impressed Democratic strategists.
Rhoades, a former public service commissioner, is a seasoned Democratic campaign operative who most recently helped shepherd Democrat John Ewing to an upset victory in the Omaha mayoral race. But she’s a controversial figure within state Democratic politics, and has feuded with state party chairwoman Jane Kleeb for years.
Askins is a 30-year Navy veteran who served as a physician’s assistant and is pursuing a doctorate in public health at the University of Nebraska while running a consulting business. She has a compelling profile and the potential to raise national money but minimal ties to the district, only just moving from Alexandria, Virginia to Nebraska a few months ago.
On the Republican side, former state Sen. Brett Lindstrom and Omaha City Councilman Brinker Harding are the most likely to run. Dan Frei, the regional sales director who ran insurgent campaigns for this district in 2014 and 2024, and Chris Chappelear, former chairman of the Nebraska Federation of Young Republicans, could also run.
Lindstrom, a former backup quarterback for the Nebraska Cornhuskers, ran for the 2nd District in 2012 against incumbent Lee Terry, losing the primary 60-23 percent. He served in the state legislature from 2015 to 2023, and ran for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2022, placing a close third with 26 percent behind winner Jim Pillen (34 percent) and agribusinessman Charles Herbster (30 percent).
Harding is a three-term city councilman who also works as a vice president at real estate firm Colliers. He also worked as an adviser to former Omaha Mayor Hal Taub, who represented the 2nd District in the 1980s.
Frei ran against Bacon in 2024, spending little money but winning 38 percent of the vote by arguing Bacon was not sufficiently pro-Trump. In 2014, Frei came even closer to winning the nomination, losing to Terry 53-47 percent despite spending just $51,000.