Army veteran Sam Brown won the Republican nomination for Senate in Nevada on Tuesday, NBC News projects, setting up a showdown with the Democratic senator. Jacky Rosen in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races in the country this year.
Republicans have viewed Nevada, where former President Donald Trump has consistently outperformed President Joe Biden in the polls, as an excellent opportunity in their quest to win control of the Senate.
“I like where we are: tied with Jacky Rosen in some polls, or certainly within the margin of error. This is a Senate race that appears to be probably one of the two or three most important Senate races in the country, from the looks of it,” Brown said in a brief interview. “That’s a competitive position and it very clearly puts Nevada in a formidable position, not just in the presidential race, but also in the race for the Senate majority.”
After Tuesday’s primary, Rosen called Brown a “MAGA extremist who will say anything to get elected,” a message the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee echoed in a new digital ad.
For months, Brown, a retired Army captain who lost his 2022 Senate primary bid, maintained a comfortable lead among his Republican colleagues in fundraising and polling. Then, late Sunday, after Trump gave Brown a shoutout at a rally in Las Vegas, he perhaps helped seal the deal with a last-minute endorsement of Brown.
“Sam Brown is a fearless AMERICAN PATRIOT, a Purple Heart recipient, who has proven he has the ‘PURE GRIT’ and COURAGE to stand up to our enemies, both foreign and domestic,” Trump wrote on her social media platform, Truth Social.
It was an affront to another candidate, Jeff Gunter, who was Trump’s ambassador to Iceland. Gunter called Brown a person beholden to national Republicans such as Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and accused them of trying to dig up dirt on him.
Jim Marchant, who won the Republican primary for secretary of state in 2022 before losing in the general election, also ran in this year’s Senate race. Marchant, who ran two years ago on a platform of election denial, previously told NBC News that he would not have certified the results of the 2020 presidential election if he were Secretary of State at the time.
Brown was criticized at one point for not participating in a primary debate. At the time, the campaign said this was a reflection of his comfortable position in the race.
Democrats also viewed Brown as the GOP frontrunner, often targeting him in their messaging, including on abortion.
Democrats view Brown, who describes himself as personally “pro-life,” as a threat to reproductive rights. On a interview in February, Brown and his wife, Amy, shared their story of having an abortion before they met. They said this underlined their feelings that the issue is complex and that politicians should lead with “compassion”. Sam Brown, who had previously said he was open to looking into the issue of a federal abortion ban, told NBC News that he has since closed the door on that possibility and promised not to support it if he were elected.
This spring, Rosen announced a $14 million ad backlog for the general elections, which will take place from July to November. She ran first announcements in Aprilportraying herself as a moderate who worked for bipartisanship in the Senate.
Brown said he welcomes the Democrats’ spending against him, saying he ultimately doesn’t believe it will be a deciding factor. He pointed to the economy and the border as one of the top issues for Nevadans. At the same time, Republicans announced that they intend make a considerable investment in the Nevada Senate race.
“Jacky Rosen could raise over $100 million and I’m still not afraid because I know that at the end of the day, her money doesn’t make up for our message of hope and hard work,” Brown said. “We are not talking about partisan issues. We’re talking about concerns that almost everyone shares and policies that benefit everyone equally. So let her raise money.
Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate. In addition to Nevada, the party is also trying to defend seats in red states like West Virginia, Montana and Ohio, as well as swing states like Arizona, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
This article was originally published in NBCNews. with
