Nebraska Republican Party Simply Does Not Care To Support Any Republican Incumbents, So That's A Real Shame

GOP In Disarray!

Intraparty tensions! Photo by Rosanne on Unsplash

Nebraska (motto: “You thought we looked like a whale when you were seven”) is holding its primary elections today, and here’s a fun trivia fact: In January, the state Republican Party refused to endorse any of the seven Republican incumbents running for reelection to the US House or Senate this year. You see, the Nebraska GOP was taken over by rabid Donald Trump loyalists in 2022, and while the average voter might look at the state’s all-Republican congressional delegation and say, “wow, those are all conservatives!” they simply aren’t Trumpy enough for the state party now.

The party has instead either endorsed primary challengers running to the right of incumbents, or simply not endorsed anyone at all. This is especially bad news for one of those incumbents, Rep. Don Bacon, whose district went for Joe Biden in 2020 and is one of the 16 similar seats Dems hope to flip this fall. The state GOP endorsed his wingnut challenger, Dan Frei, who the Washington Post notes (gift link)

secured the endorsement of the Nebraska GOP and the Republican Party’s chapters in the three counties housed in Nebraska’s 2nd District. The local chapters argued that Frei is more closely aligned with former president Donald Trump than Bacon, a four-term congressman who has often sought to strike a moderate stance in the narrowly divided House.

Frei has pledged to join the House Freedom Caucus if elected, which may not be a great strategy in a district that voted for Biden by six points in 2020. Nebraska actually splits its three electoral votes along district lines, so the Second District actually helped elect Barack Obama in 2008 as well. It’s a very swingy swing district.

But MAGA Chuds would rather be far-Right than win, especially if it means tolerating heresy. For instance, during House Republicans’ Dipshit Rebellion against Kevin McCarthy last year, Bacon said that maybe governing would have to mean working with Democrats, saying “in the end, a bipartisan way may be the only answer.” You’d never catch a true MAGA Republican saying something crazy like that. Frei has pledged he will “never vote for a continuing resolution” to prevent a government shutdown or default on the debt.

Bacon’s a “moderate” Republican, which means he’s plenty far to the right on most issues, including support for a federal abortion ban — but doesn’t want to blow up the entire government. He’s touting his record as “a common-sense conservative who is able to reach across the aisle and find areas of consensus.” He told the Washington Post in an interview last week that he hopes there’ll be a “time for reflection” following the primary, so the state party can think over its “foolish” decision not to endorse any incumbents.

“There will have to be some self-reflection and I feel sad because it weakens the party, it weakens our support. Their actions may not hurt me, but I think they will have some impact … at some point. A divided party doesn’t perform as well. It’s a gift to the Democrats.”

Well right there you can see how out of touch the man is. Since when have MAGAs ever bothered with “reflection” or reconsidering anything?

To make up, maybe, for the loss of local party support, Bacon has received endorsements from Nebraska Republican officeholders like Gov. Jim Pillen and Sens. Deb Fischer and Pete Ricketts. Bacon also has the support of the National Republican Congressional Committee, so wow, doesn’t that make him “establishment” and therefore doomed?

Maybe not so much, since Frei has sought but not received the endorsements of either the Freedom Cookers or Donald Trump Himself.

Of course, Fischer and Ricketts are also running for reelection without the state GOP’s support; Fischer in the regular Senate rotation and Ricketts in a special election to serve what remains of the term of Ben Sasse, who left the Senate to become president of what’s left of the University of Florida. Pillen appointed Ricketts, a former governor, to the seat in 2023. The state GOP endorsed John Glen Weaver, a rightwing challenger to Ricketts, but simply withheld an endorsement for Fischer. After the January non-endorsement, she was challenged by perennial candidate Arron Kowalski, a farmer who has previously lost bigly in two bids for the House.

Other than Bacon, none of the Republican incumbents actually appear to be in any trouble. Bacon has been urging supporters to vote early or by mail, which of course proves he’s Of the Devil, but may also help him in the primary, as the Nebraska Examiner notes:

Some political consultants say Frei could fare better if primary turnout is low. To counter that, the Bacon campaign has worked to bank early votes and overcome outside factors keeping people home, including the GOP presidential primary being essentially decided. 

Frei has based much of his 2024 campaign on appealing to the voters who demand more loyalty to former President Donald Trump. Trump has a complicated history with early voting, calling it cheating when other candidates are more successful at it.

Bravo for that last sentence, Nebraska Examiner. We will of course bring you whichever number between 18 and 25 percent Nikki Haley takes against Donald Trump, tomorrow probably, unless we forget or don’t care.

Whether Bacon gets fried by Frei in today’s primary, or brings himself home, the winner will face Democrat Tony Vargas, an educator and state senator who lost to Bacon by just three percentage points in 2022. Vargas is polling tightly against Bacon, with internal polling showing he does well with nonpartisan voters. And with abortion on the ballot nationwide, his support for reproductive freedom could help him beat Bacon in the fall.

Say, if you wanted to send state Sen. Vargas some love in monetary form, we would not object!

[AP / WaPo (gift link) / Nebraska Examiner]

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