Nebraska Republican Don Bacon will not seek re-election to Congress

WASHINGTON — Rep. Don Bacon, a centrist Republican who represents a key battleground district in Nebraska, is planning to announce his retirement from Congress, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

He is expected to make a formal announcement as soon as next week, when the House is poised to vote on President Donald Trump’s sweeping legislation dubbed the “Big Beautiful Bill.”

Bacon did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday night.

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NOTUS and Punchbowl News first reported his retirement plans.

Bacon has represented the state’s 2nd Congressional District, which includes much of the Omaha metropolitan area, since 2017 when he defeated his Democratic opponent by less than 5,000 votes. Since then, Bacon has kept the seat in the GOP column but only narrowly emerged victorious in recent elections, including last year, when he won by less than 2 percentage points.

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Bacon’s departure will provide Democrats an opportunity to pick up a seat in a district that has shown an appetite for supporting Democratic candidates on the ballot in recent elections.

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Then-Vice President Kamala Harris carried the district by nearly 5 percentage points in 2024 — making Bacon one of just three House Republicans to serve in a district Harris won. Joe Biden won Bacon’s district by an even larger margin in 2020.

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Bacon has been among the few vocal Republican critics of Trump’s agenda, sparring with the president at times over his use of tariffs and decision to rename the Gulf of Mexico, and accusing him of treating Russia with “velvet gloves.”

With his announcement, Bacon will join nearly half a dozen Republicans in the House who have opted against seeking re-election next year. Nine House Democrats also are not seeking re-election to their seats.