Aaron Sanderford
OMAHA — Republican Dan Frei, a blast from Nebraska’s tea party past, said this week he is seriously considering running against Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb.
Frei’s upstart bid in the 2014 GOP primary fell six points short of upsetting U.S. Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb., 53%-47%, in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.
“I’ve not made any decision that I’m going to run, but my frustration is probably as great, if not greater, than it was with Lee Terry when I ran 10 years ago,” Frei said.
Multiple GOP sources said they expect Frei to announce a run soon. He recently repurchased the rights to his old political website, www.votefrei.com.
Some credit Frei’s insurgent campaign in 2014 with proving Terry’s vulnerability. Others blamed Frei for Terry losing the general election that year to Rep. Brad Ashford, D-Neb.
Frei had the ear of libertarian-leaning Republicans in 2014, including many who embraced his anger about Terry’s support for economic bailouts for big banks.
The Trump factor
This time, Frei would be courting the populist wing of the Republican Party loyal to former President Donald Trump, the early favorite for the GOP nomination for president.
Trump has criticized Bacon and some of his votes, including his support for a bipartisan infrastructure package. During a 2022 visit to the state, Trump called Bacon “a bad guy.”
Frei’s prospects could depend on whether Trump endorses him, though some political observers have questioned how much weight the former president holds in the swing district.
Bacon has noted he outpolled Trump in the district in 2020. President Joe Biden beat Trump in the district, as well.
Trump’s political team and local Republicans devoted to him have tried for months to recruit a primary challenger for Bacon.
Bacon and the state GOP clashed last year over the party’s treatment of longtime Sarpy County GOP chair Nora Sandine, whom Bacon has defended. The state GOP helped local Republicans oust her.
Anthony also considering bid
Another candidate who has publicly flirted with running against Bacon, Robert Anthony, helped the Sarpy County GOP oust Sandine.
Anthony, reached Thursday, said he would support Frei but is willing to move back to Sarpy County from Cass County to give voters a choice if Frei decides against a bid. He called himself a “break glass in case of emergency candidate.”
Anthony, a real estate broker who ran for the Nebraska State Board of Education in 2020, knew Bacon from the Air Force. He has helped Bacon’s campaign in previous races, but has criticized him as insufficiently conservative.
Anthony has also worked with the Nebraska Freedom Coalition, which helped populist conservatives and others take over the Nebraska Republican Party in 2022.
Bacon, by the end of September, had raised $1.88 million in campaign funds and showed $1.06 million in cash on hand. In 2014, Frei raised and spent about $51,000 against eight-term incumbent Terry, who raised seven figures.
Vargas waits
Waiting in the wings for whoever wins the GOP primary is State Sen. Tony Vargas, who reported raising nearly $868,000 by the end of September. He lost to Bacon in 2022 by less than 3 percentage points. Vargas is currently the only Democrat in the race.
In 2014, Frei described himself as a fiscal and social conservative. He told the Omaha World-Herald that he admired then-U.S. Reps. Steve King of Iowa and Trey Gowdy of South Carolina.
This week, Frei, of Omaha, said he is angry about the national debt. He said he’s also upset about border enforcement, an issue that Bacon and other Republicans have raised during negotiations with the Biden administration over funding bills.
“It doesn’t feel like we’re headed in any better direction,” Frei said.
Frei has worked in banking, sales and information technology. His LinkedIn profile described him as a regional sales director for GreatAmerica Financial Services.
On Friday morning, Bacon picked up his first official GOP primary opponent. Michael Connely of York filed to run as a pauper. Filing that way means he sought an exception to paying the filing fee. York is outside of the 2nd District.
Connely was one of a host of Republicans who ran for governor in 2022. He earned 1% of the primary vote.
Bacon’s campaign had no immediate comment Thursday on the prospect of a challenger to his right. Campaign surrogates have contended that Bacon is more popular than Terry was in 2014.
Vargas’ campaign had no immediate comment.