Tony Vargas

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.

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
Assumed office
January 4, 2017
Preceded byNicole Fox
Personal details
Born
Anthony Vargas

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

Early life and education

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.[1] He graduated from the University of Rochester and received a Master of Science in education from Pace University.

Career

Vargas is a former public school teacher. He also served as an AmeriCorps fellow through Teach for America.[2] Vargas was appointed to the Omaha Public Schools Board in 2013, following the resignation of a board member.[3]

Nebraska Legislature

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.[4][5][6][7][8] Vargas defeated Synowiecki in the general election with nearly 62% of the vote. He is the first outright elected Hispanic legislator in Nebraska.[9]

Committees

Vargas has served on the Appropriations Committee since 2017.[10] 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. In 2021, Vargas was re-elected by his peers to the position of Vice Chair of the Executive Board.[11] He currently serves as the chair of the Legislature's Planning Committee, the long-term strategic planning committee for the Nebraska Legislature.[12]

COVID-19 pandemic

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.[13]

U.S. House campaigns

2022
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.[14] 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). [15]

2024
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.[16]

Personal life

Vargas is married to his wife Lauren. He is a Catholic and resides in South Omaha, Nebraska. He has two children.[17]

His father, Virgilio Antonio Vargas, died on April 29, 2020, from COVID-19 at the beginning of the global pandemic.[18]

Electoral history

2016
Nebraska Legislature District 7 Primary Election, 2016[19]
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[20]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Tony Vargas 5,244 61.75
Nonpartisan John Synowiecki 3,248 38.25
Total votes 8,492 100.00

2020
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
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
  1. Martin, Brent (September 6, 2017). "Sen. Vargas says fight for DACA program is personal (AUDIO)". Nebraska Radio Network. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  2. "Senator Vargas of Omaha Receives National Leadership Award from America's Service Commissions". ServeNebraska. September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  3. Duffy, Erin. "New OPS board member Anthony Vargas wastes no time in getting down to business". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved August 26, 2022.
  4. Walton, Don (July 6, 2016). "Tony Vargas may be Nebraska's Latino legislative voice". Lincoln Journal Star. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  5. Knapp, Fred (May 4, 2016). "South Omaha Race Shows Jockeying For Legislature". Nebraska Educational Telecommunications. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  6. "Synowiecki will try to regain South Omaha seat in Nebraska Legislature". Omaha World-Herald. May 18, 2015. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  7. Nohr, Emily (May 20, 2016). "Race between Synowiecki, Fox not close enough for automatic recount". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  8. Walton, John (November 11, 2015). "New senator stakes out independent ground". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  9. Bernal, Rafael (September 30, 2021). "Top Latino group endorses Hispanic for Nebraska House race". The Hill. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  10. "About Committee « Legislature's Planning Committee". news.legislature.ne.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  11. "Nebraska state senators elect leaders for two-year legislative session". Platte Institute. January 6, 2021. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  12. "Legislature's Planning Committee". news.legislature.ne.gov. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  13. "Tony Vargas in Nebraska: The human cost of political inaction on Covid". BBC News. October 2, 2020. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  14. Walton, Don. "Sen. Tony Vargas will seek metro Omaha House seat". JournalStar.com. Retrieved July 13, 2021.
  15. Nitcher, Emily (May 10, 2022). "Democrat Vargas to face Republican Bacon in 2nd District general election". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved May 11, 2022.
  16. Sanderford, Aaron (July 5, 2023). "State Sen. Tony Vargas announces 2024 run at Rep. Don Bacon in Nebraska's 2nd District". Nebraska Examiner. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  17. "Tony Vargas' Biography". Project VoteSmart. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  18. Burbach, Christopher. "Coronavirus took his father's life. State Sen. Tony Vargas shares his pain to help others". JournalStar.com. Retrieved September 5, 2022.
  19. "NE Legislature 07 - Primary 2016". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
  20. "NE Legislature 07 2016". Our Campaigns. Retrieved September 23, 2017.
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