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Tony Vargas

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Tony Vargas
Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Nebraska Legislature
In office
January 9, 2019 – January 4, 2023
Preceded byJohn Kuehn
Succeeded byRay Aguilar
Member of the Nebraska Legislature
from the 7th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 4, 2017
Preceded byNicole Fox
Personal details
Born
Anthony Vargas

(1984-09-02) September 2, 1984 (age 40)
New York City, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Lauren Micek
​
(m. 2016)​
Children2
EducationUniversity of Rochester (BA)
Pace University (MS)
WebsiteCampaign website

Anthony Vargas (born September 2, 1984) is an American politician and former educator serving as a member of the Nebraska Legislature. Vargas represents the 7th district, which covers all of downtown Omaha and much of southeastern Omaha.

Vargas ran for Congress in Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in 2022 winning the Democratic primary but narrowly losing to incumbent Don Bacon. He ran again in 2024 in a rematch against Bacon but was defeated again.[1]

Early life and education

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Vargas was born to Antonio and Lidia Vargas in Queens, New York City, who were originally from Peru. He was the youngest of three brothers.[2] He is a first generation graduate of University of Rochester and received a Master of Science in education from Pace University.[citation needed]

Career

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Vargas is a former public school teacher. He also served as an AmeriCorps fellow through Teach for America.[3] He was appointed to the Omaha Public Schools Board in 2013, following the resignation of a board member.[4] He was named a Presidential Leadership Scholar.[citation needed]

Nebraska Legislature

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In 2016 he ran for the Legislature against incumbent senator Nicole Fox. Fox, a Republican, finished third in the nonpartisan primary, which saw Vargas and former senator John Synowiecki advance to the general election.[5][6][7][8][9] Vargas defeated Synowiecki in the general election with nearly 62% of the vote. He was the first Hispanic Democrat elected to the Nebraska legislature.[10]

Committees

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Vargas has served on the Appropriations Committee since 2017.[11][failed verification] In 2019, Vargas was elected by his peers, in a contested race, to the position of Vice Chair of the executive board, the nine member executive arm of the Legislature.[citation needed] In 2021, Vargas was re-elected by his peers to the position of Vice Chair of the executive board.[12][better source needed] He is on the Legislature's Planning Committee.[13]

COVID-19 pandemic

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On July 29, 2020, Vargas attempted to suspend the Nebraska legislature's regular rules of order to introduce a bill that would enforce Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines in meatpacking plants to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. The motion failed to pass.[14]

U.S. House campaigns

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2022

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

In July 2021, Vargas announced his candidacy for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in the 2022 election.[15] He won the Democratic primary on May 10, 2022, but lost the general election to Republican incumbent Don Bacon in November by 2.6% (5,856 votes).[16]

2024

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Main article: 2024 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2

In July 2023, Vargas announced his candidacy for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in the 2024 election.[17]

Political positions

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In February 2024, Vargas introduced Legislative Bill 1355.[18] The bill would provide $4 million a year from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund to support better opioid treatment and overdose response programs.[19]

In March 2024, Vargas urged his colleagues to take action on rising housing costs statewide. He and Senator Wendy DeBoer introduced two bills aimed at making housing more affordable for people of all income levels.[20]

Vargas wants to codify abortion rights into federal law.[21][22]

Vargas signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge.[23][better source needed]

Personal life

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Vargas is Catholic and resides in South Omaha, Nebraska, with his wife, Lauren, who is a special education teacher. They moved to Nebraska in 2012 after she was accepted into Creighton University School of Law.[citation needed] They have two children.[24]

His father, Virgilio Antonio Vargas, died on April 29, 2020, from COVID-19 at the beginning of the global pandemic.[25]

Electoral history

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2016

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Nebraska Legislature District 7 Primary Election, 2016[26]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Vargas 1,220 45.35
Nonpartisan John Synowiecki 745 27.70
Republican Nicole Fox (incumbent) 725 26.95
Total votes 2,690 100.00
Nebraska Legislature District 7 General Election, 2016[27]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Vargas 5,244 61.75
Nonpartisan John Synowiecki 3,248 38.25
Total votes 8,492 100.00

2020

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Main article: 2020 Nebraska State Legislature election § District 7
Nebraska's 7th Legislative District Election, 2020
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Vargas (incumbent) 3,281 81.8
Republican Jorge Sotolongo 731 18.1
Total votes 100.0
General election
Democratic Tony Vargas (incumbent) 7,386 77.9
Republican Jorge Sotolongo 2,098 22.1
Total votes 100.0
Democratic hold

2022

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Main article: 2022 United States House of Representatives elections in Nebraska § District 2
Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2022
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Don Bacon (incumbent) 112,663 51.3
Democratic Tony Vargas 106,807 48.6
Total votes 219,470 100.0
Republican hold

References

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  1. ^ Ulloa, Jazmine (October 20, 2024). "A Swing District in Red Nebraska Hosts a Hotly Contested House Race".
  2. ^ Martin, Brent (September 6, 2017). "Sen. Vargas says fight for DACA program is personal (AUDIO)". Nebraska Radio Network. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  3. ^ "Senator Vargas of Omaha Receives National Leadership Award from America's Service Commissions". ServeNebraska. September 25, 2020. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  4. ^ Duffy, Erin (October 28, 2013). "New OPS board member Anthony Vargas wastes no time in getting down to business". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on August 26, 2022. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  5. ^ Walton, Don (July 6, 2016). "Tony Vargas may be Nebraska's Latino legislative voice". Lincoln Journal Star. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  6. ^ Knapp, Fred (May 4, 2016). "South Omaha Race Shows Jockeying For Legislature". Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  7. ^ "Synowiecki will try to regain South Omaha seat in Nebraska Legislature". Omaha World-Herald. May 18, 2015. Archived from the original on July 29, 2018. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  8. ^ Nohr, Emily (May 20, 2016). "Race between Synowiecki, Fox not close enough for automatic recount". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on June 28, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  9. ^ Walton, John (November 11, 2015). "New senator stakes out independent ground". Lincoln Journal-Star. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  10. ^ Bernal, Rafael (September 30, 2021). "Top Latino group endorses Hispanic for Nebraska House race". The Hill. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  11. ^ "About Committee « Legislature's Planning Committee". news.legislature.ne.gov. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  12. ^ "Nebraska state senators elect leaders for two-year legislative session". Platte Institute. January 6, 2021. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  13. ^ "Legislature's Planning Committee". news.legislature.ne.gov. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  14. ^ "Tony Vargas in Nebraska: The human cost of political inaction on Covid". BBC News. October 2, 2020. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  15. ^ Walton, Don (July 13, 2021). "Sen. Tony Vargas will seek metro Omaha House seat". JournalStar.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2021. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  16. ^ Nitcher, Emily (May 10, 2022). "Democrat Vargas to face Republican Bacon in 2nd District general election". Omaha World-Herald. Archived from the original on May 11, 2022. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  17. ^ Sanderford, Aaron (July 5, 2023). "State Sen. Tony Vargas announces 2024 run at Rep. Don Bacon in Nebraska's 2nd District". Nebraska Examiner. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  18. ^ Perez, Jessica (February 22, 2024). "'Getting to the root causes': Opioid treatment and prevention bill advances past committee". KETV. Archived from the original on March 6, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  19. ^ Hammel, Paul (February 22, 2024). "Bill to prevent opioid overdose deaths in Nebraska passes initial hurdle". Nebraska Examiner. Archived from the original on February 23, 2024.
  20. ^ Lanier, Kendall (March 14, 2024). "Nebraska senators rally to advocate for affordable housing bills". 1011 Now. Archived from the original on March 14, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  21. ^ Fraser, Quanecia (October 8, 2024). "'We're doing everything we can ... to earn everybody's vote': Tony Vargas on his second run for congress". KETV. Archived from the original on October 10, 2024. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  22. ^ "Nebraska Reacts to Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe v. Wade". Nebraska Public Media. Archived from the original on August 18, 2022. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  23. ^ Velasco, Donna (January 10, 2024). "Tony Vargas Pledges to Support Term Limits on Congress". U.S. Term Limits. Retrieved October 21, 2024.
  24. ^ "Tony Vargas' Biography". Project VoteSmart. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  25. ^ Burbach, Christopher (July 15, 2020). "Coronavirus took his father's life. State Sen. Tony Vargas shares his pain to help others". JournalStar.com. Archived from the original on September 5, 2022. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  26. ^ "NE Legislature 07 - Primary 2016". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  27. ^ "NE Legislature 07 2016". Our Campaigns. Archived from the original on September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
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Nebraska Legislature
Preceded by Vice Chair of the Executive Board of the Nebraska Legislature
2019–2023 		Succeeded by
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