Decorated retired Army Capt. Sam Brown defeated a Republican opponent in the Nevada Senate primary on Tuesday and will face off against incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nevada) in November.
Brown, a veteran of the Afghanistan war and recipient of a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star medal, won 56.8% of the vote in the Republican primary.
In a crowded field of Republican candidates, no other candidate received more than 16.5% support.
The general election showdown between Rosen, who has served as a senator since 2019, and Brown is expected to be one of the most competitive races in the 2024 general election.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Brown in a Truth Social post on Sunday.
“Sam Brown is a fearless American patriot and Purple Heart recipient who has proven he has ‘pure grit’ and courage in the face of enemies both foreign and domestic,” the 77-year-old Republican presidential candidate wrote.
“Sam has already proven his love for his country by making the comeback of a lifetime despite suffering horrific injuries,” he added, referring to Brown’s horrific injuries which nearly claimed his life when a roadside bomb hit Kandahar in 2008.
The explosion left the veteran with scars on his face and burns over 30 percent of his body.
On the Democratic side, Rosen handily defeated his opponent in the primary, winning with 92.5% of the vote.
Nevada’s Senate elections could determine which party controls the Senate next year, with the Silver State likely to lean Republican in 2024.
Trump leads Biden by more than five points in Nevada, according to a RealClearPolitics polling average.
Democrats currently hold a slim 51-49 majority in the Senate.
The Rosen-Brown contest, along with Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) against Republican Tim Sheehy and Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) against Republican Bernie Moreno, are considered the front-runners for Republicans to gain control of the Senate.
Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) defeated Adam Laxalt, a Republican backed by President Trump, in the 2022 Nevada Senate election by less than one percentage point.
