Rep. Don Bacon’s record on abortion, guns and the economy contradicts claims of centrism

Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon has long presented himself as a political moderate. His voting record over four terms in Congress largely contradicts that claim.

This November, Bacon is running for reelection against Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas. The race is a rematch of the 2022 election, in which Bacon narrowly prevailed 51.3%-48.7%. The Cook Political Report rates the race competitive, leaning Republican; the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia calls it a toss-up.

“I’m the Centrist who wins… every time,” Bacon tweeted in May 2023.

Despite his claim to be a centrist, he voted with President Donald Trump 89% of the time.

“Rep. Don Bacon has worked tirelessly to roll back reproductive freedom, consistently earning a 0% score from NARAL in the Congressional Record on Choice,” noted the group now called Reproductive Freedom for All in November 2020. His campaign website highlights endorsements from Nebraska Right to Life and an A rating from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America. He said in a 2016 candidate survey that he opposed legal abortion even in cases of rape, incest, or to prevent the death of the mother, though he tweeted in March, “I’ve always defended the life of the mother.”  

Bacon opposed the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have restored Roe v. Wade’s protections, falsely claiming it would allow abortion “even up to moments before birth.”

He voted against background checks for gun purchases in 2021, arguing, “There is no question that loss of life due to gun violence is traumatizing and heartbreaking, but we cannot ignore the fact that the numbers do not show background checks, gun registries, and other measures will work.” He also opposed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in 2022, saying that laws to temporarily remove firearms from those judged an imminent danger might be unconstitutional: “I do not believe federal tax dollars paid for by Nebraskans should be used in other states, such as California and New York, to fund Red Flag programs that do not have due process protections nor a right to attorney.”

In April, Bacon touted an A rating and endorsement from the National Rifle Association. He has accepted more than $16,000 from its PAC over his career. 

Bacon voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, tweeting that he voted “hell yes” for the American Health Care Act in 2017. That bill that would have replaced the Affordable Care Act with a plan that nonpartisan congressional scorekeepers said would leave 14 million more people uninsured. 

He voted for Trump’s 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which slashed tax rates for the richest Americans and big corporations while offering minimal savings or even tax hikes for millions of working families.

He has also opposed gradually raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour, cracking down on oil and gas companies engaging in price gouging, and authorizing Medicare to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs.

Vargas has been endorsed by Planned Parenthood Action Fund and Reproductive Freedom for All and vows to codify the protections previously guaranteed under Roe.

He supports background checks for gun purchases; on his campaign website, Vargas proposes, “Let’s create better paying jobs, pass a middle class tax cut, reinstitute the expanded child tax credit, lower the cost of healthcare and prescription drugs, ensure affordable child care, and guarantee paid family leave to workers.”