Analyzing the NE-02 Race

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's been a while, Joe. With this news cycle as

(00:02):
frantic as any I've ever seen all summer long, it's
been hard to shoehorn in some some of the more
local topics. But it's good we have a chance to
catch our breath this morning a little bit and talk
about this district to congressional race between the incumbent Down Bacon,
longtime incumbent, and the challenger, Tony Bargas, a repeat of

(00:25):
of the twenty twenty two race, and Tony put out
poll it's funded by his campaign, so you have to
take that into consideration that showed he's leading Bacon a
little bit. This was a phone pole from late June.
So let's say it's neck and neck. Is that fair?

(00:46):
Do you think at this point?

Speaker 2 (00:49):
Is I understand that Gary Bacon has his own poll
that says he's up by a couple of points, so
make it's fair. What I can tell you is just
in the last forty eight hours, I asked Jane cleb
the head of the Nebraska Democratic Party, because she's been
very close to Minnesota Governor Tim Walls, if Walls is
coming to Nebraska, and she responded that yes. They actually

(01:13):
was trying to get him here, possibly as early as today,
but now she says it'll be after the convention that
Walls will be coming to the second Congressional District, and that,
as you know, is with the one electoral vote hanging
balance for the state of Nebraska and the Vargas Bacon race.
The Democrats right now, Gary is you're well aware. They
were more abund a month ago, and that's all changed.

(01:35):
They see great life right now. They know this is close,
both at the presidential race, both at the congressional race,
but where they were really hopeless a month ago, they
now see, they see hope on the horizon.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
I would imagine all four of the candadates will be
coming the second district at some point.

Speaker 2 (01:52):
I'm not sure about that. Yeah, I'm not sure about that.
Will Harris coming, I not convinced. And then I'm not
convinced that that the former President Trump or a dvance
will will come at this point in time. That's a
question that Don Bacon may want to answer, how interested

(02:12):
he would be in having those folks here in the
Purple district and a tough race. I mean, the Democrats
like the fact that Walls is coming because they see
him as they're making the case, agree or disagree. They're
making the case that he can appeal to that very
moderate Republican and that independent Nebraskan who could make the
difference in that Vargas race against Bacon.

Speaker 1 (02:33):
You know, that's an interesting point you raised, Joe. I'm
curious how much does the local candidate have to say
about whether or not a national candidate comes in on
their behalf.

Speaker 2 (02:46):
It depends on the national candidate. I mean, if Donald
Trump wants to come to Omaha, he's coming regardless, right,
If Harris wants to come, and for instance, if the
Democrats locally didn't want her to come, I think they
could make the case and she might not come. But
I think it depends on the actual individual you're looking at.

Speaker 1 (03:07):
Yeah, the events I talked about, the frantic news cycle,
the events of the last month have really thrown this
into a different the second district into a different picture now,
as well as the whole national race. I suppose it's
fair to say, but the second District has always been

(03:28):
a target, and now you have the real possibility that
it could be a one vote difference in the electoral college.
And I guess where that one vote might.

Speaker 2 (03:37):
Be right, and both sides are well aware of that.
And going back to the Vargus Bacon race, talk about
the fact you mentioned it was a repeat of twenty
twenty two. One key difference, Scary is that in twenty
twenty two there was not the Dan Fry factor. My
now ise Dan Fry still has not reached out out

(04:00):
and endorse Don Bacon following the primary fight. Now, how
many votes that would be if the folks that liked
did Dan Fry, you know, stay home, quote unquote don't
vote in that race, and they're not going to vote
for Tony Varks, but they just don't vote. This race
gets down to, well, we think it's going to be
you know, several hundred, maybe a couple thousand votes. All
those votes matter.

Speaker 1 (04:22):
Well, yes, and this is disappointing. I got to say,
I've known Dan a little bit over the years then
from the ten years ago when he ran the first time,
and always liked him. But this is disappointing. And this
Nebraska Republican Party that's been taken over by the far right,
they are about to potentially cut off their nose despite

(04:42):
their face because we don't like that Bacon. I know,
this is just this is bad. I heard this is bad.

Speaker 3 (04:48):
Their finances were so bad they had to sell. They're
putting their building up and saled in downtown Lincoln.

Speaker 2 (04:53):
That there's going to be a reckoning after November. On
the on the inside the Nebraska Republican Party, several UH
Nebraska Republican Party officials who used to be part of
the party at now we're sort of on the outside
of the party. Uh. They say that day is coming
because it's hard. How do you not support your elected

(05:13):
officials and say and say we're the party. It's the
whole thing is pretty convoluted.

Speaker 1 (05:19):
It's brutal. Joe, it's great to catch up with you again,
and let's let's stay in touch. Did you ever work
directly with Jim Kelder over at Channel three? We used
to Were you there back?

Speaker 2 (05:29):
Oh? I got there, I got there. I was there
a long time. I actually got there after after Kelter left.

Speaker 1 (05:36):
Yeah, I didn't know him. I assume a great guy
and really nice guy passed yesterday, kind of got.

Speaker 3 (05:41):
Pushed out by Dale Hansen. UH and uh kind of
drifted away from television, but he stayed in Omaha, active
in sports and media, and he was a nice guy.

Speaker 1 (05:49):
Really nice guy accident really yeah, Joe, Thank you, Joe.
Jordan