LAS VEGAS — Two years ago, Republicans came within 8,000 votes of defeating Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) in what would have been a major victory for the party. GOP senators privately harangued their candidate, Adam Laxalt, for losing what they believed was a winnable race.
It’s why Republicans in Washington have been so high on Sam Brown, the GOP nominee to take on Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) this November. Senate Republican leaders touted Brown as one of their best recruits as they were desperately looking to shake what Minority Leader Mitch McConnell panned as a “candidate quality” problem.
And while GOP leaders like what they’ve seen so far from Brown, the retired Army captain hasn’t yet had a breakthrough moment even as he highlights Nevada’s economic indicators, which are generally worse than the national averages.
“Jacky Rosen is a day-one supporter of Bidenomics and Kamala Harris — voting with what Joe Biden wants 98% of the time — and Nevadans are still suffering because of her hyper-partisan allegiance putting party over the people she claims to represent,” Brown told us this week.
McConnell said in an interview last week that he doesn’t see the same problem with candidate quality this time around, but it’s unclear if that can make a difference in what’s a unique state electorally.
“I think we’ve avoided that,” McConnell said regarding lackluster 2022 candidates. “I’m hoping we can take advantage of what’s obviously a very good map.”
It’s the economy: Brown has been focused on inflation and energy prices in Nevada, arguing that they’re higher than elsewhere in the country because Rosen backed President Joe Biden’s legislative agenda during the first two years of his administration.
As we wrote on Wednesday, Rosen is proudly touting those bills, arguing they’ve already made direct and positive impacts on Nevada.
It’s also worth noting that many of those legislative accomplishments from the last Congress, like the $1 trillion infrastructure bill, passed with significant GOP support, including from McConnell.
Former President Donald Trump gave Brown a boost when, at a recent rally here, the GOP presidential nominee vowed to end taxes on tips. This is obviously a major issue in Nevada, where so many workers get significant chunks of their income from tips.
Both Rosen and Cortez Masto later came out in favor of the proposal, and Brown has now included it in his pitch as well. Senate Minority Whip John Thune even mentioned it to us in a recent interview centering on the 2025 tax fight.
“Sam Brown of course has a terrific resume and is a terrific candidate,” Thune said in a separate interview. “I’ve always said elections are about differences, and the differences couldn’t be more clear this year.”
Senate Republicans’ early affinity for Brown was driven in part by his inspiring backstory. Brown, a former Army captain, was severely wounded when his convoy was bombed in Afghanistan, and he spent several years recovering. Brown was later awarded a Purple Heart.
“Sam’s running a great race,” NRSC Chair Steve Daines told us. “There’s just a lot of opportunity for Sam, with Trump performing well in Nevada, to perform well in that race.”
On the ground: Like most of the Senate battlegrounds, the presidential race will have a major impact down the ballot.
Nevada’s huge cohort of union workers, particularly in Las Vegas, have long been a major force in statewide elections, especially in presidential years. Rosen is looking to use that to her advantage in a state where Trump is polling well. Brown, though, has consistently polled slightly behind Trump, which could make a difference in a tight race.
The Rosen-Brown contest has grown very contentious over the issue of abortion in particular. We’ll have more on this dynamic in tomorrow’s AM edition, including a look at how abortion-related ballot initiatives will impact the races in both Nevada and Arizona.
Also: Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) dumped $850,000 of his own cash into his campaign account Tuesday, according to a filing made public Wednesday. Scott frequently funds his own campaigns. But this is a large cash infusion that caught our eye. Scott is facing former Rep. Debbie Mucarsel-Powell (D-Fla.) in November.
