GOP Rep. Don Bacon announced Monday that he would not vie for a sixth House term next year, leaving his highly competitive Nebraska seat up for grabs.
Bacon, 61, who hasn’t been shy about criticizing President Trump and his fellow Republicans over their response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, explained that he wanted to spend more time with his family.
“When we started this journey in 2015, we had one grandchild. Today, Angie and I are blessed to have eight grandchildren,” the congressman said in a statement.
“After 30 years in the Air Force and 10 years in Congress, it’s time to spend my future with the love of my life, our four kids, and our wonderful grandchildren. Thank you, Nebraska!”
Bacon is one of three sitting House Republicans who represent a district that former Vice President Kamala Harris won this past November. There are 13 House Democrats who represent a district that President Trump won.
Bacon won a fifth term representing his Omaha-centered district by just 1.8 percentage points, defeating Democrat Tony Vargas by fewer than 6,000 votes out of more than 314,000 cast.
With the GOP currently holding a 220-212 majority in the House, Bacon’s decision not to seek re-election complicates their path to keeping control of the lower chamber.
“The writing has been on the wall for months. Nebraskans are tired of the false promises that Republicans are trying to sell and they want real results,” Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee spokesperson Madison Andrus chided in a statement.
“Don Bacon’s decision to not seek reelection in 2026 is the latest vote of no-confidence for House Republicans and their electoral prospects. Next November, Nebraskans are going to elect a Democrat who will actually deliver for them.”
Bacon, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, had been one of a handful of Republicans in Congress who publicly criticized Trump over his ambivalence toward Ukraine and its president, Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I feel so strongly about it, I just don’t care,” Bacon told The Post in March, while accusing the president of taking “a pro-Russian view” of the brutal war.
“He has been very weak on Ukraine,” Bacon bluntly added, “and he’s been a bit of an appeaser to Russia.”
The Nebraska Republican had also been a critic of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth over a leaked Signal chat discussing airstrikes in Yemen earlier this year.
Bacon’s announcement comes one day after Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) revealed that he would not be seeking re-election in 2026, leaving one of the GOP’s most vulnerable Senate seats up for grabs.
