President Bacon? Outgoing Nebraska congressman ‘prepared to be that person’

OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) - Rep. Don Bacon, who did not seek re-election for what could have been his sixth term for Nebraska, was asked Tuesday if he was preparing for a run for the presidency.

He replied that he has a speech at the National Press Club next week.

“I’m not announcing for president, but I want to lay out an agenda for America,” Bacon said. “It’s more about ideas and the principles that I think we need.”

Bacon said he would be happy if someone else took up the message.

“I’m not naive enough to know it’s very hard to run for president as a U.S. House member,” Bacon said. “The last person to do it was President (James) Garfield. That was about 140 years ago, roughly.”

Bacon was first elected to Congress in 2016. Democrat Denise Powell won the 2026 race for District 2 and will be sworn in Jan. 3, 2027.

Question about a presidential bid

Bacon said his answer on a presidential run “is not no, but that’s not yes.”

“I’m going to lean into this message,” Bacon said. “And I hope somebody takes the flag.”

“My wife and I are prepared to be that person right at this moment,” Bacon said. He said he would like someone else to take it on.

“If Americans like this message, I’m going to test it out there,” Bacon said. “I’m going to go out there all over the country and want to get this message. And if I sense a demand for it, nobody else is stepping up ... I’m an American patriot. I want our country to succeed. But I don’t really want it to be about me.”

Bacon said he wants people to embrace the ideas.

“If I see them embracing it and a demand for it, that will drive some of my decisions here,” Bacon said. “Or if I see someone step up and say, ‘Don Bacon is right,’ or however I want to lead on this, it doesn’t have to be me.”

Debt and mandatory spending

Bacon said the country has to solve the debt crisis if it wants to remain the economic engine of the world.

“If we want to remain the superpower of the world, the economic engine of the world, that we got to solve this debt crisis,” Bacon said. “And it’s going to take tough decisions. It’s mandatory spending is driving 75% of this.”

Immigration and population

Bacon said the country has to make tough decisions on legal immigration if it does not want a shrinking workforce and a shrinking population.

He said Japan, China “to a degree,” Western Europe and many other countries have rapidly declining populations. He said the declines are having “profound impacts on the quality of life in their country and their economies.”

“We have the ability, the luxury, of addressing this because people want to move to America,” Bacon said. “We can be selective and bring good people and keep our country the most competitive country in the world.”

Health care and national security

“We’ve got to solve health care,” Bacon said. “I don’t believe in socialized medicine or nationalized medicine, but we have to understand that when health care climbs three times faster than inflation, it’s unsustainable.”

Bacon said national security is his “forte.” He said the country has “some grave things that we’re not dealing with right now.”

“Well, because all we care about is beating the Democrats or the Democrats beating Republicans,” Bacon said.

Bacon said he wants to see leadership that ensures America is prepared for the next 30 years. He said he is willing to work across the aisle.

“I believe Americans want that right now,” Bacon said. “I can see it. I can feel, everywhere I go, I talk, they’re like, ‘Why is nobody dealing with this stuff while we’re too busy beating each other up?’”

The 2028 general election is 729 days away.