OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — For two election cycles, Nebraska and national Democrats have sought the congressional seat of Rep. Don Bacon.
Now two Omaha Democrats, Tony Vargas and Alisha Shelton, are seeking to defeat him in the fall.
Both candidates running for the Omaha-area House seat say they grew up with working-class backgrounds and that their life experiences, specifically their current work, prepare them to go into a polarized Congress and get things done.
Tony Vargas is used to navigating politics. He has served six years in the legislature and four years before that on the Omaha Public Schools Board of Education. He says that experience, and growing up as a son of immigrants, will make him an effective Congress member.
“I think we need more fighters and workers in Congress that come from a working-class background, that also have the experience of getting things done right away because we can’t wait,” said Vargas.
But the South Omaha state senator has a challenger in Alisha Shelton: a mental health therapist who previously ran for U.S. Senate in 2020 and fell short in the primary, but says she learned valuable lessons on how to run a campaign.
“I think that I am someone, as a trained problem solver, who is going to always get to the heart of the issues. I’m going to answer questions directly,” said Shelton.
After news of a likely reversal of Roe v. Wade, the two Democrats both say they’d work to legalize abortion nationwide.
Shelton speaks from the personal experience of needing a medication abortion to save her life.
“When you are in such a critical headspace and you just got bad news, you don’t want to think about the government, you want to know what’s necessary for you to live,” said Shelton.
Vargas voted against a statewide abortion ban last legislative session and points to his young daughter as a reason he’s against one in the future.
“She has every single right to choose what she can and cannot do with her body. I don’t think politicians should have any say in what a woman does with her healthcare reproductive decisions,” said Vargas.
Shelton mentions she’d work on a $15 minimum wage, provide strong constituent services and expand labor protections.
She also believes the current representative, Don Bacon — one of just a few vulnerable Republicans to survive the 2018 midterms and outperformed President Trump in 2020 — is beatable.
“So, what I want is somebody that is going to be consistent and, I think when voters start looking at his patterns of inconsistency, I think we do have an opportunity to say enough is enough. Let’s put somebody in here who is actually going to be there for us,” said Shelton.
Vargas says he worked to improve public health programs, such as Medicaid, as well as protect voting rights and bring back the child tax credit.
He also pointed to his work in the legislature, fighting for South Omaha to be a part of a sweeping economic recovery plan, and says he’d translate it to Washington.
“In DC, I want to take that same approach; it’s solving problems and actually figure out where we can spur economic development and re-invest back in people,” said Vargas.
Both candidates also say they’d work to bring down the cost of prescription drugs. They're also both in favor of a public option for healthcare, which would allow Americans to buy insurance from the government. Shelton indicated she’d work on Medicare for all or single-payer healthcare.
Bacon is running against a relatively unknown candidate, Steve Kuehl, in the primary election.
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