Former President Donald Trump praised Nevada Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown, calling him a “good guy” at a rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, but refrained from vocally endorsing him ahead of Tuesday’s primary election.
Trump attended a fundraiser on Saturday and spoke at a rally in the Silver State on Sunday, spurring speculation he might offer a last-minute endorsement of Brown, who is running for the Republican nomination this fall against Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nevada.
Brown faces two Republican challengers in the Republican primary, with his most formidable rival being Jeffrey Gunter, a former U.S. ambassador to Iceland who served in the Trump administration.
But the former president only briefly mentioned the Republican primary in his speech, saying of the retired Army captain Brown, “There’s a fine man named Brown,” seemingly suggesting that Brown would win the November primary, describing him as “a congressman named Brown.”
Nevada is the only state in the hotly contested Republican Senate primary where President Trump has declined to endorse a candidate.
Brown is expected to defeat Gunter in Tuesday’s primary and has the backing of Senate Republicans, but the lack of the former president’s endorsement is still a blow to Brown. He reportedly traveled to Florida earlier this year. To gain support from President Trump.
But it may speak to Trump’s decision to avoid getting between the Senate Republican-backed candidate and Gunter, a former administration official who is also a prominent GOP donor. Trump attended a fundraiser on Saturday hosted by Don Ahern, who is also a supporter of Gunter.
Nevada is seen as one of the few states that could swing the battle for the White House and control of the Senate. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nevada) won reelection in 2022, defeating Republican Adam Laxalt by just one percentage point.
The nonpartisan election forecasting site Cook Political Report rates Rosen’s seat as a “50-50” chance.
