By Chuy Renteria, Hola Nebraska
Maybe it’s just me, but it’s hard not to compare Nebraska state Sen. Tony Vargas to former President Barack Obama. Specifically, Obama as an Illinois state Senator coming into his own as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, primed and pumped for the groundswell that would take him to the presidency. As indicated by a recent campaign ad with Vargas in a gym court, both he and the former president shoot hoops, both skewed younger when they began their tenures as state senators (Obama was around 36 years old, Vargas 32), they even sound a bit alike. At least that’s what I noted when I recently had the opportunity to chat with Senator Vargas over the phone.
Or maybe it’s just the fact that Sen. Vargas seems to be having his moment? A recent SurveyUSA poll has Vargas leading against incumbent Don Bacon by 6 percentage points in their race for Nebraska’s 2nd District. The race, already significant enough because of how the state awards its Electoral College votes, is made all the more important by the recent momentum shift following the baton handoff for the presidency to Vice President Kamala Harris. Both Trump and Harris’ campaigns seem to realize the importance of the blue dot that is Omaha, as they continue to coordinate and push efforts in the city. This is all to say that there is a lot on Sen. Vargas’ plate. We talked about everything on that plate, how being first-generation influenced his career aspirations, his ongoing efforts to protect factory workers rights, and what he thinks are the next stops for his city and the country at large.
My first question: how are you right now? I know it must be incredibly busy, the last two months before November. How are you feeling?
I am excited and making sure that we can maximize every single minute of every single day here, to flip the seat, to get to Congress, to make history here.
It’s a close race, but you’re ahead in the polls. What does the current work entail? What’s the game plan in terms of these last few months?
I think the thing that we’re really excited about and it feeds into the game plan, which is we are a top five race for the House of Representatives, right now across the entire country. We are really one of the top Latino races we’ve ever seen in history, in the Midwest for the House of Representatives, and I will be the second Democrat elected in the last 30 years to this congressional seat. The polling is telling us that all of the work we’ve been doing is paying off. We’ve knocked on tens of thousands of doors. We’ve had 75 plus events in the District. We continue to fight every single day to reach voters. My parents were immigrants from Peru. I’m proudly first generation in this country, and a proud first generation college graduate…for me, being a product of a Latino immigrant story, my family’s background, I’ve been trying to lift that out in my work…sharing my story and sharing my opponent’s record of failing working families in Nebraska. This is how we’re building excitement and how we’re going to make sure we get to election day and make history on November 5th.
That’s something that resonated with me. We’re both first generation college graduates. How do you feel your experience as a first generation college graduate has influenced your path in public service? What would you say that experience has been like?
I mean, it’s definitely influenced it. Me and my two older brothers were all born in this country and education was critical for me. It was critical because it was the pathway out of poverty. It was also the pathway to make sure that we can give back to others. Being a first generation college student trying to change the stars and history of my family was really important to me. What we do with that education is really important. I decided to become a public school science teacher and was teaching second grade science to kids that look just like me, and I wanted them to have a piece of the American dream that I had, but I needed to make sure I was fighting for them. That’s what inspired me to get into public service. Trying to make sure that we are reducing barriers for people to actually have a piece of this American dream that my parents sacrificed for me, but now I have the opportunity to sacrifice it for other kids, and especially Latino, brown and black kids that I kept seeing in our communities. Not as many doors were being provided to them and I wanted to make sure that we were making it easier for them to be successful in school and have a better outcome of life.
Omaha, Nebraska – August 11, 2024
CREDIT: Matt Roth
Do you feel that pressure for — because you said the words: your parents sacrificed, right? And there’s a responsibility there. What is the idea of being your brother’s keeper? Or being in public service and feeling like giving back? Do you have any thoughts on that?
It’s hard, yeah, because in pretty much every space that I’m in, it doesn’t matter if I was a teacher, or if it was being a school board member or state senator, I feel like I am one of the few Latino voices in these spaces. And I feel like it’s part of my job to make sure that I can actually reach people and be an example for kids that not only look like me, but come from similar backgrounds. It’s not easy but it’s a responsibility that I’ve taken on. It’s the same responsibility that my mom took on, like coming to this country and fighting for me and my brothers and being a role model. Working every single day, working double shifts with my dad, and both working on the factory line. That is one of the reasons why I take this job so seriously, making it easier for people like my parents and my family to have a kind of American dream and quality of life that should be possible. It is an added pressure that I take very, very seriously, and we’re trying to do everything we can to make that possibility available for kids and for families.
You talked of your father and I want to send condolences for your father’s passing and also share that that’s something else, unfortunately, that really resonated with me, I mean — you talk to any Latino across the country, but especially in the Midwest, and they can probably relate. My father also got COVID from working in a factory. He survived, but he got it bad. I know that you’ve worked really hard on trying to pass bills on factory safety and practices. Could you speak on that?
I carry my dad with me every day, he’s one of the reasons why — both my parents worked in factory lines and when we lost our father he was a big motivator to why I stepped up to try to fight for our meatpacking and food processing plant workers across the country, particularly Nebraska. And why we were fighting for better protections during the pandemic. Why we were fighting for better sick leave and better opportunities to actually provide the protections that they need. I think we actually had the first hearing on protections for new factory plant workers for the legislature across the country. It was to provide accountability, both for employers to be better employers, but also for the employees to be taken care of. Making sure that we are considering and taking care of their safety should be the most important thing we’re talking about, and something I was really proud to do.
So there’s going to be, of course, a lot of Nebraskan readers who are already familiar with you. But me being an Iowan, I was wondering if you could speak to the importance of this race for Latinos across the Midwest, who might not be as familiar?
One, this is one of the most important races across the entire country, because we split our electoral votes. This has been the blue dot, but it’s been a purple place. Trump won the electoral vote in 2016 and then Biden won it in 2020 and now Harris and Walz are trying to earn it. And I think that that is really important, because it could be a tie breaking vote on who wins the presidency. And also the House of Representatives only needs to win back five seats to then be in the majority, and this is one of these top five seats. So this is one of the most important elections in our time. And for Latino voices; being a Latino that gets elected to Congress from the Midwest, that demonstrates what it looks like for the first generation of family members to be here and to fight, para luchar por nuestra comunidad…making sure that we’re doing everything we can to address civil rights, voting rights, and also lower the cost of living for working class families. We’re talking about real middle class families, especially Latino families. That is what I want to make sure my legacy is and what the importance of this election is in this Nebraska Second District.
As State Senator Vargas continues to navigate the demands of a high-stakes election and the responsibilities that come with representing Nebraska’s 2nd District, it’s clear that his journey is about more than just winning a congressional seat. It’s about honoring his family’s sacrifices, amplifying the voices of underrepresented communities, and paving the way for a more inclusive future. Whether or not history is made on November 5th, the passion and dedication he brings to the race serve as a reminder of the power of perseverance and the importance of representation in shaping our country’s future.
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