KVNO News

Don Bacon, Political Plan for 2020 Elections

By Gabriel Escalera, KVNO News

September 16th, 2020

OMAHA – Congressman Don Bacon has represented Nebraska’s second congressional district since 2017. He got his start in politics through volunteering for campaigns when he was just 13 years old. This early start is something he attributes to his father and grandparents. 

“All my grandparents were sort of conservative and they were my mentors. My dad was a Goldwater volunteer so I got brought up in that environment where by the age of 13 I was volunteering at campaigns. I graduated at 16, went to college and I was a Young College Republican and opinion page editor, so with my upbringing on the farm I learned a lot about political stuff as well from my family, which got me involved,” Bacon, Said.

After graduating from college, Bacon went on to serve 30 years in the Air Force. He believes this experience has helped to shape his time in Congress, from the committees he works on to the skills that job has required. 

“So I feel like I bring a lot to the table on the Armed Services Committee. But I think on the personal side, I also realized that, as a commander, I have to know who I’m communicating with, what was my message, how to stay on message. Congress needs that same scope: what do you prioritize, what do you value, how do you communicate that? You can’t communicate something one time and expect it to get across. If you value something, you’ve got to communicate that repeatedly. I learned that in the military and I think you’ve got to do the same thing as a representative,” Bacon, Said.

Bacon is carrying these thoughts with him into the upcoming election season, but his priorities, just like those of most Americans, have had to be adjusted over the past six months. While Nebraska currently has the best unemployment rate in the country (5.2 on July 13), Bacon says finding a cure and building the economy back up are the most important issues right now. 

“First of all, we have to find a cure or therapeutics for COVID and get the economy open. I think that is the number one issue in this campaign. People are also really scared to go back to work. So, I believe that is the number one issue and that comes down to who do you trust to get your economy moving again. We had the strongest economy in 50 years prior to COVID and part of that is tax policies and the regulatory policies that I support were being implemented,” Bacon, Said.

Along with cures for the pandemic and the economy, Bacon is placing focus on healthcare reform.

“I’m of the opinion now that we have to keep what works in Obamacare or ACA and change what’s not working. So I’ll work within the current framework, but there are things we definitely need to change. Those who have to buy their own insurance are paying 20 to 30,000 a year. We need to provide more options, more flexibility for those on the market, but yet we have to preserve pre-existing conditions,” Bacon, Said.

Aside from his stances on the aforementioned issues, Bacon believes his general conservative values give him a good standing within the eyes of his constituents. 

“Finally, I would just say I bring conservative values and a strong sense of protecting our country. I know what it takes to protect our country, and our values of protecting our freedom, our liberties. So it’s really about the third most important issue: who represents the values the best in this district, and I think I can make the case fairly easily that it’s me,” Bacon, Said.

Bacon’s opponent in this fall’s election is Kara Eastman, a social worker, non-profit executive and small business owner from Omaha. This is Eastman’s second attempt to unseat Bacon, something that Bacon says deserves respect.

“I give her credit, more than anything to run a second time. I think it takes courage to get back in the ring. You know if you lose one time it’s hard to submit yourself through this. It’s a very hard process and so I’ll just credit her hard work,” Bacon, Said.

There has been a good deal of debate surrounding how this year’s election should be carried out and whether or not voters should be forced to leave their homes to vote during the pandemic. While President Trump has led the call against mail-in ballots, Bacon says he is not opposed to the idea. 

“We had a mail-in ballot in the primary. I don’t have this fear of mail in ballots like some people do around the country. I just think it should be up to the voter, if you want to do a mail in ballot, do a mail in ballot. If you want to vote in person, vote in person. To me it’s whatever’s best for the person. I respect those who maybe have health concerns that want to vote absentee and everybody’s always going to have a right to vote absentee if they want. I’m making that possible, if you want to vote absentee of mail-in, please do so,” Bacon, said.

KVNO is covering the 2020 elections and gives all candidates the opportunity to present their policy plans. Check out our website to hear the premiere of Dan Bacon contender, Kara Eastman.

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