OMAHA, NEB. — The open-seat U.S. House race in Nebraska's second congressional district, anchored in Omaha, is taking shape as a competitive contest this year following Representative Don Bacon's retirement announcement last year. While Nebraska is a reliably Republican state, the Omaha-based district remains competitive because persuading voters across party lines could make the difference.

Registered Republicans are the largest single party in the district, but Democrats and independents combined outnumber Republicans. Voters there have shown a willingness to back moderate candidates from both parties, and the seat is not guaranteed Republican despite the state's overall Republican leaning.

A competitive Democratic primary is underway to replace Bacon in Congress. One figure shaping perceptions of the district's political center is John Ewing Jr., who last year defeated three-term incumbent Republican Jean Stothert by nearly 14 points in an officially nonpartisan mayoral race. Ewing previously served as a deputy chief in the Omaha Police Department and as county treasurer, and he says he sees himself as a public servant rather than a politician.

"I believe that the vast majority of voters are somewhere in the middle," Ewing said. "If you appeal to them and you give them that message, and you show them that you can do it based on what you've done in the past and your willingness to partner across party lines and all of the other artificial things that divide us, you can win," he said.

Bacon, who supported the bipartisan 2021 Infrastructure Act, has said his record on bipartisan legislation helped him in a district with many Democratic and nonpartisan voters. "I think I've been able to show that I'm not a Republican first. I'm a Christian, conservative - or a Christian American. Somewhere over here, I'm Republican. But I've been willing to take tough votes, whether it's certifying the election, which I believe was constitutional," Bacon said.

Defining the political middle in the district is not straightforward for voters themselves. "It's really hard to define what moderate is between, like, what the outward appearance of moderate is versus what I think, moderate positions or overall popular positions actually are," said Daniel Vecellio, a voter in the district.