In 2013, Vargas was appointed to the Omaha school board. He served three years before launching a run for the state Legislature. He won about 62% of the 2016 general election vote to became the first Latino elected to the Nebraska Legislature, which now has two Hispanics. All of Nebraska’s legislators are senators because it is unicameral and intended to be nonpartisan.
“Tony’s a good candidate because he’s been elected before. He has name ID and relationships in the community,” Rocha said. “A lot of times, we run candidates who are wealthy and have money because we are so worried about their fundraising potential, we forget to ask, ‘Do people know them?’ People know Tony.”
Matthew Zacher, Bacon’s campaign manager, touted the Republican congressman’s own ties to his constituents, saying the staff works hard to be sure he is regularly in the district.
While Nebraska’s Latino population grew 42% in the 2010-20 decade, just 7% of Nebraska’s eligible voters were Hispanic in 2022 and a smaller share turned out, about 14,000, according to the UnidosUS Hispanic Electorate Data Hub.
However, Nebraska saw a notable increase in Latino voter registration in 2022, when Vargas was on the ballot. That year, there were 37,000 registered Latino voters, up from 28,000 in 2020. Like with other groups, turnout among Latinos rises in presidential election years, with 8 in 10 or more Latino voters nationally usually turning out, said Clarissa Martinez de Castro, a UnidosUS Latino electorate expert.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump improved his margin with Latino voters nationally and Bacon won the district where a good portion of the state’s Latinos live. But Biden won the district. Nationally, Biden won the greater share of Latino voters, 65% to Trump’s 32%.
Vargas touts his legislative record of voting for more than $6 billion in tax relief over the past six years or so, relief that he says helped working- and middle-class families. “I bucked my party,” he said.
Vargas is…
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