GOP’s Don Bacon and challenger neck and neck in Democratic poll

Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) and his Democratic challenger Kara Eastman are running neck and neck as the pair head for an electoral rematch, according to a poll released by House Democrats’ campaign arm late Tuesday.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) released the poll Tuesday night after Eastman won the Democratic primary in Nebraska’s 2nd District, setting up a rematch from 2018 when Bacon narrowly held onto his seat by about 2 points.

The poll conducted in the days leading up to Tuesday’s primary shows Eastman holding the slimmest of leads over the incumbent, garnering the support of 48 percent of likely voters compared to Bacon’s 47 percent, a 1-point gap that falls well within the poll’s margin of error.

Eastman, a liberal who bested a centrist candidate Tuesday, heads into the general election with endorsements from an array of progressive groups and lawmakers, including Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

“This is a major victory for the progressive movement,” said Alexandra Rojas, executive director of Justice Democrats. “We’re proud to fight alongside Kara Eastman to defeat Don Bacon’s agenda of division and greed.”

Bacon’s seat is a top target for Democrats, who are eager to flip the district after Eastman’s near-victory two years ago. 

“In 2018, Kara Eastman came within inches of unseating Congressman Don Bacon, and this time around she’s ready to finish the job. While Kara has been an independent voice working to serve her community in Omaha for nearly two decades, Congressman Don Bacon has focused only on doing whatever Donald Trump asks, relentlessly pursuing Republicans’ out-of-touch agenda of dismantling our current health care system, undermining protections for pre-existing conditions, and raising taxes on middle class homeowners,” said DCCC Chairwoman Cheri Bustos (D-Ill).

Democrats’ hopes may be buoyed there, with the poll showing former Vice President Joe Biden leading President Trump by 11 points (52 percent-41 percent) in the district. The district is far more competitive than the rest of the state, which Trump won by 25 points in 2016.

Still, Eastman will have to face off against a well-funded foe in Bacon, who boasted a campaign account of about $765,000 at the end of April while she has yet to break six figures. 

The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan election handicapper, rates Bacon’s seat as “Lean Republican.”

The DCCC said that 448 likely voters were surveyed for its poll between May 7-10. It has a margin of error of 4.6 percent.