Anthony Vargas (born September 2, 1984) is an American politician and former educator who served as a member of the

Nebraska Legislature The Nebraska Legislature (also called the Unicameral) is the legislative branch, legislature of the U.S. state of Nebraska. The Legislature meets at the Nebraska State Capitol in Lincoln, Nebraska, Lincoln. With 49 members, known as "senators ...

from 2017 to 2025. Vargas represented the 7th district, which covers all of downtown Omaha and much of southeastern

Omaha Omaha ( ) is the List of cities in Nebraska, most populous city in the U.S. state of Nebraska. It is located in the Midwestern United States along the Missouri River, about north of the mouth of the Platte River. The nation's List of United S ...

. Vargas ran for Congress in

Nebraska's 2nd congressional district Nebraska's 2nd congressional district is a List of United States congressional districts, congressional district in the U.S. state of Nebraska that encompasses the core of the Omaha–Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It includes all of Douglas ...

in both 2022 and 2024, losing closely both times to incumbent Republican

Don Bacon Donald John Bacon (born August 16, 1963) is an American politician and retired military officer who has served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Nebraska's Nebraska's 2nd congressional district, 2nd congress ...

Early life and education

Vargas was born to Antonio and Lidia Vargas in

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, who were originally from

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. He has two older brothers He was raised in

Smithtown, NY Smithtown is a town in Suffolk County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. The population was 116,296 at the 2020 Census. The census-designated place (CDP) of Smithtown lies within the to ...

and graduated from Smithtown High School in 2002. He is a graduate of the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and received a

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in education from

Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...

Career

Vargas is a former public school teacher. He also served as an

AmeriCorps AmeriCorps ( ; officially the Corporation for National and Community Service or CNCS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the United States government that engages more than five million Americans in ...

fellow through

Teach for America Teach For America (TFA) is an American nonprofit organization whose stated mission is to "enlist, develop, and mobilize as many as possible of our nation's most promising future leaders to grow and strengthen the movement for educational excell ...

. He was appointed to the

Omaha Public Schools Omaha Public Schools (OPS) is the largest school district in the state of Nebraska, United States. This public school district serves a diverse community of about 52,000 students at over 80 elementary and secondary schools in Omaha. Its distric ...

Board in 2013, following the resignation of a board member.

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. Vargas defeated Synowiecki in the general election with nearly 62% of the vote. He was the first

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

Democrat elected to the Nebraska legislature.

Committees

Vargas has served on the Appropriations Committee. In 2021, Vargas was re-elected to the position of vice chair of the executive board. He is on the Legislature's Planning Committee.

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 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is the National public health institutes, national public health agency of the United States. It is a Federal agencies of the United States, United States federal agency under the United S ...

guidelines in meatpacking plants to respond to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The motion failed to pass.

U.S. House campaigns

2022

In July 2021, Vargas announced his candidacy for

in the 2022 election. He won the Democratic primary on May 10, 2022, but lost the general election to Republican incumbent

in November by 2.6% (5,856 votes).

2024

In July 2023, Vargas announced his candidacy for Nebraska's 2nd congressional district in the 2024 election.

Political positions

In February 2024, Vargas introduced Legislative Bill 1355. The bill would provide $4 million a year from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund to fund opioid treatment and overdose response programs. In March 2024, Vargas and Senator Wendy DeBoer introduced two bills focused on

housing affordability Housing refers to a property containing one or more shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and human right, playing a crit ...

. Vargas wants to codify

abortion rights Abortion-rights movements, also self-styled as pro-choice movements, are movements that advocate for legal access to induced abortion services, including elective abortion. They seek to represent and support women who wish to terminate their p ...

into federal law. Vargas signed the U.S. Term Limits pledge.

Personal life

Vargas is

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

and resides in

South Omaha, Nebraska South Omaha is a former city and current district of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. During its initial development phase, the town's nickname was "The Magic City" because of the seemingly overnight growth due to the rapid development of the Unio ...

, with his wife, Lauren, who is a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

teacher. They moved to Nebraska in 2012 after she was accepted into

Creighton University School of Law Creighton University School of Law, located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States, is part of the Jesuit Creighton University. History The School of Law was founded in 1904 as a joint project with the Omaha Bar Association, with Timothy J. Mahoney ...

. They have two children. His father, Virgilio Antonio Vargas, died on April 29, 2020, from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at the beginning of the global pandemic.

Electoral history

2016

2020

2022

2024

References

External links

Tony Vargas for Congress
campaign website
Sen. Tony Vargas
official legislative website {{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Tony Living people 1984 births American politicians of Peruvian descent Candidates in the 2022 United States House of Representatives elections Catholics from New York (state) Educators from New York City Hispanic and Latino American state legislators in Nebraska Democratic Party Nebraska state senators Pace University alumni Politicians from New York City Politicians from Omaha, Nebraska School board members in Nebraska Schoolteachers from Nebraska Schoolteachers from New York (state) University of Rochester alumni Candidates in the 2024 United States House of Representatives elections 21st-century members of the Nebraska Legislature