Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, is set to hold a campaign event in Omaha, Neb., this weekend, hitting a crucial congressional district that allocates a lone electoral vote, which could help swing the outcome of the 2024 election.

Down the ballot, the race in Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District could be among the most consequential in the country — it could not only help decide control of the House, but also impact the presidential race.

The district is one of the few won by President Joe Biden in 2020 that is held by a Republican, Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE). The race will feature a rematch between Bacon and Democratic state Sen. Tony Vargas, whom Bacon beat by three percentage points in 2020.

Bacon is among the most outspoken and active pro-Israel lawmakers in the House, and is also active on antisemitism issues and holds close ties to the Jewish community. He’s featured as one of AIPAC PAC’s top-priority candidates on its website.

Vargas’ views on issues of concern to the Jewish community are less well-known. In an interview with Jewish Insider last month, he expressed strong support for the U.S.-Israel relationship, characterizing himself as someone willing to break with his party, if needed, in support of the Jewish state.

“I support Israel. I supported Israel prior to the attacks, and I still support them,” Vargas said in an interview with JI, adding that he doesn’t believe in conditioning aid to allies, including Israel. “They are a democracy bringing stability to the region and that hasn’t changed.”

He said that the war in Gaza had only strengthened his support for Israel, adding that he’s told anti-Israel activists in the district urging him to change his views that Israel remains an important U.S. ally. He also criticized those who equate Israel with Hamas.

“When Israel is attacked, this is a time that we have to do our duty to step up,” Vargas said, noting that he co-sponsored a resolution in the Nebraska legislature condemning Hamas and antisemitism and supporting Israel, even while other Democrats declined to do so. “In times where we don’t see a lot of Democrats that are willing to stand with Israel, I think we need more of that.”

In a written response to JI, a Vargas campaign spokesperson said he also opposes the Biden administration’s withholding of some arms transfers to Israel. “With Israel’s existence under threat from terrorist violence, we cannot play politics with this critical aid.”

Speaking to JI, Vargas declined to draw specific contrasts between himself and Bacon on Israel policy, saying instead that they “have very similar views on this,” which is “probably healthy for our country.”

“We should be electing people to Congress like myself that believe in our relationships and honor them even when it’s the most difficult,” Vargas said. “I also think it’s important that we have Democrats like myself that are also sending and believing and talking about this message.”

Vargas also condemned antisemitism, saying that he’s personally heard stories from Jewish friends in Omaha about the hate that they are facing. “What we need is champions and allies on the Republican and Democratic sides that are remembering what history has shown us, what Israel and the Jewish people have gone through.”

He emphasized his support for additional funding for law enforcement in the context of protecting the Jewish community from antisemitism. In his 2022 position paper, Vargas said that the U.S. “must continue to be a bulwark” against “antisemitic” targeting of Israel at the United Nations.

Bacon has repeatedly sought to tie Vargas to far-left Israel critics in Congress, accusing his opponent of remaining silent during the war and refusing to condemn antisemitism, highlighting incidents where the state senator has ignored questions from anti-Israel demonstrators at events and slamming him for his past support for a divided Jerusalem.

In his 2022 position paper, Vargas endorsed a two-state solution including “a shared capital for both Israel and a future Palestinian state in Jerusalem as part of any agreement, with national borders that account for Israel’s security needs.”

Pressed on his support for a divided Jerusalem in his interview with JI, Vargas didn’t address the issue, instead saying that the end of the current war in Gaza must involve the release of the Israeli hostages and the removal of Hamas from power in Gaza. He said that there’s no possibility for peace if Hamas remains in power.

Asked again about the issue in writing, a campaign spokesperson said Vargas believes Jerusalem is the capital of Israel and that the U.S. and international bodies should recognize that.

In his position paper, Vargas encouraged “empower[ing] moderate Palestinian leadership,” discouraged Israeli settlement activity and annexation in the West Bank and urged Israel to “respect human rights,” in pursuit of a two-state solution.

To address Iran’s nuclear program, in his position paper, Vargas called for negotiations with Iran to “permanently” end Iran’s nuclear program; in the absence of diplomacy, he called for “severe sanctions.”

A campaign spokesperson said Vargas also supports the Abraham Accords and a Saudi Arabia-Israel normalization deal as a bulwark against Iran.

Despite Bacon’s frequent jabs, Vargas has largely declined to publicly discuss his views on Israel and antisemitism on the campaign trail.

Vargas has focused his campaign messaging around domestic priorities such as crime and abortion access, and makes no mention of his positions on combating antisemitism or foreign policy on his website. He hasn’t written anything about the war in Gaza on X, formerly Twitter, since Oct. 10, 2023, when he shared photos of community members gathering for an event honoring those impacted by the attack three days prior. Same with the otherwise-active Facebook page for his campaign.

Vargas also declined to retweet either post from the Democratic Majority for Israel, the pro-Israel group, celebrating its endorsement of him.

He posted a tweet in January commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day that read: “We must always stand against anti-Semitism and honor their memories by rejecting all violence fueled by hate and bigotry.”

The public silence hasn’t deterred him from participating in events with local Jewish groups or engaging with Jewish donors. Representatives for two local Jewish organizations, both of whom spoke on condition of anonymity, said they felt the Democrat reached out to their community.

Omaha is also home to a sizable Palestinian community, and includes one of the campuses for the University of Nebraska, the second largest behind Lincoln.  

Harrison Hickman, a pollster and the founder of Hickman Analytics, told JI on Thursday that Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District “remains a highly competitive district,” describing the Bacon-Vargas race as a toss-up. Biden carried the district by seven points in 2020, even as Bacon won reelection that year and in the 2022 midterms.

“If I walked in there today and did a poll and asked if you were more likely to vote for the Democrat or the Republican for Congress this year, it would come back about 45-45 with 10% undecided. This is a toss-up. That is why I think Vargas and Bacon have to be concerned about losing any kind of support from the fringes of their parties, the far left and far right,” Hickman said. 

Both candidates have been strong fundraisers: Bacon had brought in $4.3 million as of the end of June, while Vargas raised $3.5 million. The two were roughly neck and neck in remaining cash on hand — Bacon had $2.2 million to Vargas’ $2.5 million.