Former U.S. President Donald Trump has recently endorsed retired U.S. Army Captain Sam Brown to run against Nevada’s incumbent senator. This endorsement could potentially turn the close U.S. Senate race in Nevada, making it a crucial battleground for both parties.
Brown managed to secure Trump’s endorsement, which propels him as the favorite in the upcoming Republican primary. Brown will face 11 other candidates vying for the nomination. Alongside Trump’s backing, Brown has also been endorsed by Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, a former sheriff of Clark County.
Brown’s military service and near-death experience in Afghanistan have been central to his political message during this campaign. He often talks about the leadership lessons he learned while serving in the Army. Trump himself praised Brown’s wife, Amy, a U.S. Army first lieutenant.
The Nevada primary election will take place on Tuesday, June 11. The winner of the primary will face incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) in the November 2024 election.
The race is seen as a potential GOP pickup opportunity that could determine which party controls the U.S. Senate in the upcoming Congress. Democrats currently hold a slim majority of 51-49, but their position is threatened by a challenging election map in 2024. They need to defend incumbents not only in conservative states such as Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia, but also in swing states like Nevada.
In April, the nonpartisan Cook Political Report declared Nevada’s Senate race to be a “toss up,” although this was before Trump’s endorsement of Mr. Brown. The report noted that Nevada’s only Democratic senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, had been flagged as a possible seat that Republicans could flip during the 2022 midterms, but she managed to defeat former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in a tight race.
In light of Trump’s endorsement and his recent conviction in Manhattan for falsifying business records, it remains to be seen how this will impact the Nevada Senate race in the coming months leading up to the 2024 election.