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Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen and Republican challenger Sam Brown
CNN
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Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Republican challenger Sam Brown will face off in one of the most important Senate races in the 2024 elections, with both winning primaries on Tuesday.
Senate Democrats face a difficult political landscape this fall, having to defend seats in the red states of Montana, Ohio and West Virginia, as well as several other swing states. Therefore, Rosen’s seat is crucial to the party’s hopes of maintaining its slim majority in the House.
Nevada is poised to play a key role in the November elections as Republicans aim to reverse years of Democratic dominance in federal races there. The last time the Republican Party won a Senate race in Nevada was in 2012, and the party’s last presidential candidate to lead the state was George W. Bush in 2004. But Republicans moved the governor’s job in 2022 and hope take advantage of those gains this year.
Brown, a retired Army captain who earned a Purple Heart when he was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan, unsuccessfully sought the GOP nomination for the state’s other Senate seat in 2022. But national Republicans identified him as a of top recruits this cycle, and he received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump over the weekend.
In Tuesday’s primary, Brown defeated a field that included Jeff Gunter, a wealthy dermatologist who was Trump’s ambassador to Iceland and spent $2.2 million of his own money on ads presenting himself as Trump’s true ally. president in the race and portrayed Brown as someone indebted to Washington. interests.
Brown ran about $840,000 in advertising before the primary, but was also supported by several outside groups that invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the primary, including: Duty First Nevada PAC, which spent more than $900,000; the Republican Leadership Fund, which spent nearly $470,000; and Americans for Prosperity, the influential conservative organization funded by the Koch family, which spent about $420,000 on the race.
Brown’s ads focused on his support for Trump’s agenda, particularly reducing illegal immigration. They also regularly highlight his decorated military service.
“As a veteran, I will never compromise America’s security. I will end Trump’s wall and stop the border invasion. As a small business owner, I will lower prices and make Trump’s tax cuts permanent,” Brown says in an ad.
Rosen’s campaign, meanwhile, has already aired $7.5 million in TV ads. She had $10.2 million in her campaign coffers as of May 22, compared to Brown’s $2.5 million.
Rosen’s ads sought to portray the senator as a moderate, invoking her support for measures that would lower prescription drug prices and provide health care benefits to veterans exposed to toxic burns. They also cast Rosen as a disruptor of Democratic leadership on border security.
“Six years ago, I promised to do what is right for Nevada, not my party leaders. I will not toe the party line and never have. I am proud to be named one of the most bipartisan senators,” Rosen says in an announcement.
Rosen was first elected to the Senate in 2018, unseating incumbent Republican Dean Heller. She previously served a single term in the House, representing a swing seat in the Las Vegas area.
