The Nebraska congressman who won his swing seat race while much of the rest of the Republican Party underperformed, pointed the finger at former President Donald Trump on Wednesday.
Rep. Don Bacon said swing voters disapproved of President Joe Biden and generally agreed with the GOP on the core issues, but Trump’s divisive rhetoric was too much to overcome.
“They like the policies, but the bombast, the name-calling, the lack of self-control, probably cost us 10 to 14 seats in the House, probably cost us three to four seats in the Senate,” said Bacon in a Zoom interview from his Washington office.
Despite expectations of theGOP having a House majority of 20-plus seats, it’s likely to be less than 10. The Democrats already won the US Senate, beating historic trend lines that favored Republicans.
But Bacon survived yet again, defeating Democratic State Senator Tony Vargas by over four points. This was Bacon’s fourth consecutive election victory, all of which were tight races.
Looking ahead to a slim majority in the House, Bacon said he wants to work with Democrats.
“I will not accept gridlock. I will work across the aisle, find consensus areas and make progress. That’s where I stand, that's probably why we did well in our purple district that’s 50/50,” said Bacon.
As for specifics, Bacon says he's keeping an eye on local issues: Eppley Airfield upgrades, UNMC renovations and tracking the infrastructure money in Nebraska.
He expects fights on spending-related issues, as he finds it necessary to reduce federal government spending during high inflation.
Where he hopes to find consensus, despite years of gridlock, are on issues surrounding immigration and crime.
“To grow our country, we’ve got to govern. We don’t want people that will fight to the death and get nowhere, this burn-the-house-down mentality does not work for middle America,” said Bacon.
It’s still unclear which Republican will lead the effort to pass their agenda. Leader Kevin McCarthyreceived the support of around 85 percent of the caucus on Tuesday, but needs to hold onto all but five Republican members to become Speaker of the House in January.
Bacon appeared frustrated that a small number of colleagues could, in theory, allow a Democratic Speaker to be picked.
He said he won’t let that happen, even if it means working with Democrats to pick a moderate Republican Speaker, something unheard of in modern political times.
“We’re going to find ways to govern and to work and so I will work, even if means to cross the aisle to get a Republican nominee for speaker,” said Bacon.
Unsurprisingly, Bacon does not support former President Trump’s re-election bid, something he has said before.
While Bacon enthusiastically endorsed and campaigned for Trump in 2020, he now believes Trump won’t be able to convince swing voters to vote Republican.
He wants to bring in a ‘Ronald Reagan personality’ that could capture a new electorate, such as the Hispanic community.
“So, we need to find someone who has our conservative values, who is more inclusive, who wants to grow our party, not divide our party. You need someone with self-control, temperament, the right presidential temperament,” said Bacon.
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