Senate Republicans have landed their top recruit to challenge Nevada’s Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen, with Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) and company committed to candidate quality above all else.
Sam Brown, a retired Army officer who was severely burned by a roadside explosion in Afghanistan, announced Monday he would throw his hat in the ring. Brown also ran in the last cycle but lost to former Nevada attorney general Adam Laxalt in the primary.
“Right now, the American Dream is at risk. Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen promised to unite Americans and solve problems,” Brown said in a statement. “Instead, they’ve abandoned Nevada and divided America with extreme policies to satisfy special interests in Washington.”
The ex-Army captain moved to Reno, Nev. in 2018 and started a business with his wife providing medication to veterans.
In May, McConnell said he would focus on flipping four states in 2024: Montana, West Virginia, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. At the time, he was still assessing Wisconsin and Nevada.
Though the Senate map next year is more favorable to Republicans than most cycles, McConnell and company do not want to leave anything to chance. “We do have the possibility of screwing this up and that gets back to candidate recruitment,” McConnell told CNN.
The minority leader and Senator Steve Daines (R., Mont.), who helms the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), have decided to get involved in any primary where that seems to be necessary to get a high-quality candidate, a departure from the last cycle. Senator Rick Scott (R., Fla.), who helmed the NRSC during the 2022 midterms, decided to steer clear of intervening in the primaries, arguing they would let voters choose their candidates.
In a statement to Politico, Daines said he was very pleased Sam was stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate. “Sam Brown’s life of service and sacrifice is an inspiration to all Americans,” Daines explained.
Brown securing the support of Republican leadership makes it likelier the party will prevail in an increasingly winnable state.
In the last cycle, Brown lost the primary by 22 points to Laxalt, who was endorsed by Trump. The former attorney general is the grandson of Paul Laxalt, the popular former governor and senator from Nevada. Laxalt did not manage to unseat Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D., Nev.) in the general election, losing to her narrowly.
Brown will also face a primary battle this time around, with former Nevada state lawmaker Jim Marchant having already entered the race. Marchant is a Trump ally who baselessly denied the validity of the 2020 election when he previously ran for Nevada secretary of state.
Daines has put his finger on other Senate races, coming out strongly for Governor Jim Justice in West Virginia and Tim Sheehy in his home state of Montana. Both are facing serious challenges from sitting representatives — namely, Alex Mooney (R., W.Va.) and Matt Rosendale (R., Mont.).
In Pennsylvania, McConnell and Daines have their eyes on David McCormick, who lost to Mehmet Oz in the last cycle.
In his statement, Brown said he would run a no-nonsense campaign in which he plans to emphasize his experience in the military.
“In the military, no one asks you what party you are in,” he said. “They just want to know they can count on you to get the job done. That’s the attitude we need to tackle the problems of today.”