LAS VEGAS — Sam Brown, a first-time candidate in Nevada who could take control of the state Senate in November, could pull off an upset against first-time Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, Republican leaders say.
Brown, 40, a combat veteran who was severely burned in 2008 when a roadside bomb exploded under the fuel tank of his car in Afghanistan, is currently trailing Rosen, 67, by 10.7 percentage points in RealClearPolitics. Poll Average.
Former President Donald Trump is in a virtual tie with Vice President Kamala Harris in the Silver State.The average RCP support for Democratic candidates is 0.6% leadThat's within the margin of error. But a Brown campaign official said the internal investigation The Senate elections also show results within the margin of error.
The late Democratic Sen. Harry Reid served in the Senate for 30 years, including eight as Senate Majority Leader, and three years after his death he remains an influential figure in the state, but there are signs that Nevada could lean Republican, especially if Trump wins the state this year.
Two years ago, Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, whose father preceded Reid in the Nevada Senate, lost the Senate election to Catherine Cortez Masto by 8,000 votes. That equates to about four votes per district, according to Montana Sen. Steve Daines, who is running the Republican Senate campaign. Bad weather on Election Day 2022 — snow in northern Nevada and light rain in the southern part of the state — may have dampened Republican turnout, Daines added.
It goes without saying that 2022 will be a tough battle with no presidential candidate coming out on top and midterm turnout, but Daines argued that the numbers are tipped in favor of Republicans in 2024.
“Remember, that night Joe Lombard was also elected governor,” Daines said, meaning Nevada will elect a Republican governor in 2022 — the first time a Republican governor in the country will be elected that year.
Daines said of the state's Republicans that Brown's “voters haven't come back yet, but they will come back.” Daines said he also expects efforts from groups such as the Club for Growth, which has pledged $2 million to support Brown's candidacy, to pay off.
Florida Sen. Rick Scott, who served as the Republican Senate campaign chairman in the last midterm elections, was similarly optimistic about Brown's prospects, speaking to reporters last week.
“I think Sam will win,” said Scott, who is running for majority leader if Republicans regain control of the Senate. “He's obviously a war hero and he's served this country. He's got the right mindset. He knows you can't have an unaccountable government. We've got to support Israel. We've got to destroy Hamas.”
Rosen fired back at Brown's campaign with an ad arguing that Republicans support a nationwide abortion ban. He denies it.In a statement, she argued that Brown is “trying to cover up his decade-long opposition to abortion rights and will say anything to get elected.”
But Brown campaign officials said Rosen's repeated emphasis on abortion was an attempt to distract from issues that affect Nevadans' wallets.
“The reason they only want to talk about abortion is because Jackie's track record on home prices, voter turnout and spending plans that will only fuel inflation, increase the national debt and hit everyone's wallets,” a Rosen campaign insider said.
Rosen and Brown They will face off in a televised debate hosted by KLAS-TV in Las Vegas on October 17. It will be simulcast in Reno and then broadcast locally in Spanish by Univision.
