Denise Powell at her campaign event on June 4, 2025. (Courtesy of Denise Powell for Congress)

LINCOLN — Former Omaha State Sen. Tony Vargas has endorsed nonprofit co-founder and business owner Denise Powell in her bid for Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District.

The endorsement comes a day after Omaha State Sen. John Cavanaugh declared his candidacy for the seat on Wednesday, the same day Powell hosted a campaign kick-off event.

The Vargas endorsement also followed Cavanaugh saying he has a “stronger record of being a leader in the Legislature” than Vargas.

Vargas, a Democrat who represented South Omaha in the Legislature and on the Omaha Public Schools board, narrowly lost twice to U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., with the 2024 margin being less than two percentage points.

“Denise’s leader

See Full Page