Former President Trump is keeping Nevada Republicans on their toes as they await a potential endorsement in the state’s crucial Senate race.
The former president did not give his opinion, despite the primaries taking place on Tuesday. Republicans believe the race for the party’s nomination will come down to two candidates: retired Army captain Sam Brown, who has been leading in the polls, and former ambassador to Iceland, Jeff Gunter.
Nevada remains the last state where Trump has yet to endorse a competitive Republican Senate primary. Trump expected to participate in a fundraiser Saturday in the Silver State and hold a rally Sunday in Las Vegas where he could make a last-minute pick — giving one Republican a critical boost as they look toward a possible uphill battle against Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev. ) in the fall.
Some Republicans aren’t making much of the lack of support, saying Brown appears poised to win on Tuesday.
“I don’t think it’s something that [Trump] needed to get in,” said Zachary Moyle, former executive director of the Nevada Republican Party. “I think Sam Brown is way ahead. I don’t think he’s ever been close and I think because of that there’s just no need to do that.”
Moyle suggested that if Trump supported Brown, it would also risk angering two Republican candidates who are loyal to Trump: Gunter and former state Rep. Jim Marchant (R), who is also running for the seat and has denied the results of the election. 2020.
“One of the things that Republicans continue to do is eat their own and alienate themselves, and I think that’s something you don’t want to risk in something as massive as a race like this,” Moyle said.
“I see this as a very smart and strategic move by Trump to not get involved in a race in which there is no benefit to getting involved,” he added.
Longtime Nevada GOP strategist Chuck Muth predicted that Trump may stay out of the race entirely to avoid the possibility of endorsing a candidate who loses the primary.
“I don’t think anyone can guess what goes into Trump’s decision-making on things like this, but clearly anyone in his position has to take a serious look at whether or not they support a particular candidate, whether that candidate has a legitimate opportunity to really win,” Muth said. “And no one wants to record their support for candidates who lose. I think that might be the problem.”
Trump’s endorsements have had significant value in recent years, especially in contested primaries. He supported former football star Herschel Walker in Georgia last cycle, famed heart surgeon Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania, Senator J.D. Vance (R) in Ohio and former local news anchor Kari Lake in Arizona.
But many of his supporters in the November 2022 midterm elections lost the general election because they were dogged by negative headlines, dealing a major blow to Trump and Republicans.
Although Trump has participated in some primaries this cycle as head of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), the two have been largely aligned on which candidates to support.
The former president supported businessman Bernie Moreno in Ohio’s crowded Republican Senate primary, while the NRSC sat out. Trump also supported former Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) in the GOP race for Michigan’s Senate seat and supported former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy in Montana when Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) flirted with a candidacy for the Senate.
Still, Trump’s absence from the Nevada race is notable. On Tuesday, he published a post on Truth Social encouraging Nevadans to get out and vote — but didn’t say for whom.
It’s unclear whether Trump will make an endorsement this weekend, though some Republicans appear hopeful he will.
Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), Chairman of the NRSC, told Politico earlier this week he believed Trump would support Brown. NRSC spokesman Mike Berg noted in a statement to Politico, however, that “President Trump has not made a commitment on this front.”
Gunter’s campaign confirmed to The Hill that the former ambassador would participate in Saturday’s fundraiser hosted by Don Ahern, who has thrown his support behind Gunter, as well as Sunday’s rally. Brown campaign spokeswoman Kristy Wilkinson also confirmed that Brown would attend the rally.
Both candidates have made no secret that they would love the former president’s support.
“I supported President Trump in 2016 and knocked doors for him in 2020,” Brown said in a statement. “I have always believed in his vision for America and continue to support him today. win Nevada in November and would be honored to receive your endorsement.”
Brown reportedly traveled to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida last month to personally request an endorsementaccording to CNN.
Meanwhile, Gunter projected confidence about its viability in a statement.
“Despite the corrupt and coordinated attempts to mislead President Trump, we remain confident that he now has the real data, understands why the base is vehemently against Brown, and that we can absolutely win this race – we look forward to welcoming him to the Silver State . and join him on Saturday and Sunday,” Gunter said.
The race to unseat Rosen is expected to be one of the tightest in the country as Democrats hope to maintain their slim majority. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) narrowly won re-election in 2022 against Republican Adam Laxalt by less than a percentage point, handing Democrats control of the upper chamber.
Jessica Taylor, Senate and governors editor at the nonpartisan election pollster Cook Political Report, wrote in an analysis this week that the retired Army captain was “in the driver’s seat” in the Republican race to face Rosen, noting that polls showed Brown ahead of its competitors, a report from the State Department’s inspector general that suggested Gunter had a controversial stint as ambassador to Iceland and data from AdImpact showing that Gunter cut back on his ad buying.
Gunter’s Campaignargued in an interview with Foxthat his team is reallocating resources to digital and Spanish-language advertising elsewhere and was not cutting ads.
Brown has faced his own attacks, with Gunter attacking Brown on air claiming he is not a true supporter of the former president and launching an ad campaign last month to brand himself“110 percent pro-Trump.”In an ad campaign last year, Gunter labeled his opponent “Never Trump Sam Brown.”
Brown showed hesitation about being seen around Trump early in the campaign, holding off on supporting the former president until just before the Iowa caucuses. But he has changed his rhetoric as the primaries approach and he seeks to appeal to both moderate Republicans and independents, along with the GOP base.
A recent internal poll of Gunter’s campaign, conducted by Kaplan Strategies, suggested that Brown and Gunter were tied, although other polls have shown the retired Army captain firmly in the lead. A survey by Noble Predictive Insights released Friday showed Brown ahead of Gunter 50% to 15%.
With the GOP primary looming, some Republicans think a last-minute endorsement of Gunter may not even be worth it given that early voting has already begun.
“If Trump supported Gunter on Sunday, it would certainly help, but it may be too little too late,” Muth said. “We have so many ballots that have already been cast. They can’t go back now.”
Despite some blows, Republicans think their party is ready to regroup and stay on the same page through November.
“Republicans are smarter than that,” said Republican strategist Jeremy Hughes, who has worked in Nevada, when asked whether some of Gunter’s jabs could impact Brown’s standing among the Republican base in November.
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
