OMAHA — In the 2nd District, incumbent U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., outraised State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha by June 30, $2.72 million to $1.64 million, campaign finance reports show. Bacon reported spending $1.64 million through June. Vargas reported having spent $1.11 million over the same span.

Bacon and Vargas have spent the summer painting one another as extreme and partisan in a race that is expected to draw a lot of outside money.

Bacon has already seen more than $800,000 in outside money from police and firefighter SuperPACs come his way. He’s likely to benefit from National Republican Congressional Committee spending, having been identified as a purple seat the national GOP wants to protect. A progressive outside group, Unrig Our Economy, has pledged more than $1 million in outside spending against Bacon. Vargas has also been identified by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee for its “Red-to-Blue” program, targeted at GOP-held swing districts that Democrats want to gain.

Meanwhile a rare special election in June jolted fundraising in eastern Nebraska’s 1st Congressional District, making the dash for dollars nearly as competitive as the fight for votes.

In the 1st District special election, then-State Sen. Mike Flood of Norfolk won after out-fundraising State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks $1.36 million to $983,000. Flood, who entered the race in January, listed $47,435 in cash on hand at the close of the second quarter. Pansing Brooks, who faced nominal competition in the primary, listed $356,511 in cash on hand as of June 30.

Pansing Brooks, an abortion-rights Democrat, says she has received more interest from donors since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its longstanding position on Roe v. Wade, sending decisions on the legality of abortion back to lawmakers. Flood, an anti-abortion Republican, has supported an abortion ban at the state level. He has also said that he is willing to pass a ban at the federal level.

As an incumbent congressman, Flood is now backed by Republican Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, whose fundraising prowess could help him refill his campaign funds quickly.

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