EXCLUSIVE — Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown never saw himself getting into politics.
But after being forced to retire from the military due to an ambush that left 30% of his body burned and the loss of his left index finger, Brown and his wife looked to other ways to serve their country — sparking a decadelong journey of running for public office that began with a conversation at his dinner table.
“I didn't come up through the political system. I'm an outsider, a veteran who got wounded and, came back,” Brown told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “I really thought the military was going to be my professional life. So, [I’m] sort of discovering who I was supposed to be outside of the military when I couldn’t serve anymore.”
The Senate race in Nevada is one of the most competitive elections of the 2024 cycle and will help determine which party will win control of the upper chamber next year. A Republican hasn’t held a Senate seat in the Silver State since 2019 when Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV), whom Brown is challenging, flipped the seat in Democrats’ favor.
Brown previously ran for the Senate in Nevada in 2022, when he lost the GOP primary to Adam Laxalt by 21 points. Laxalt went on to lose to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV).
But Brown said he was encouraged to run again by the National Republican Senatorial Committee because of his conservative record, something that prompted him to launch his 2024 campaign and win the crowded GOP primary in June.
“Captain Sam Brown is an America First candidate who will work with President Trump to bring hope, safety, and security back to this country,” NRSC spokeswoman Maggie Abboud said in a statement. “Sam is closing in on spineless politician Jacky Rosen, who thinks her job as a United States senator is rubber stamping Joe Biden’s disastrous agenda.”
Republicans have expressed confidence in flipping a number of vulnerable Senate seats in November, especially as Democrats must deal with the down-ballot effect of having President Joe Biden at the top of the ticket — something GOP candidates have seized on.
Former President Donald Trump has consistently led Biden in polls coming out of the battleground state, beating the president by an average of 5 points overall.
Brown painted himself as the best candidate to win the seat for Republicans, arguing that because he is not a career politician he knows “what a lot of people are struggling” with and the issues that matter to everyday Nevadans.
“Whether it's just kind of the financial pressure that people are under, like when grocery prices are elevated or gas prices are elevated — that makes you have to make some adjustments to your lifestyle,” Brown said.
However, Democrats have pointed to Rosen’s dominance in the polls as the incumbent has consistently led Brown since he won the GOP nomination. That, paired with his policy positions on issues such as abortion, will help lead to a Democratic victory, according to Rosen’s campaign.
“Sam Brown will say anything to get elected, and his far-right agenda of banning abortion even in cases of rape or incest, phasing out Social Security and Medicare, abolishing the Department of Education, and turning our state into a nuclear waste dump would be a disaster for Nevada families,” campaign spokeswoman Johanna Warshaw told the Washington Examiner. “Voters have a clear choice in this race between a bipartisan and independent senator who delivers for Nevadans and MAGA extremist Sam Brown’s far-right agenda that would devastate hardworking Nevadans.”
Brown pushed back on that characterization of his abortion stance, telling the Washington Examiner he has been “very consistent” in defending Trump’s position that abortion should be left to the individual states.
“I would not vote for a federal abortion ban,” he said. “We need to have a real good conversation and let people know that they're being supported regardless of what they decide to do."
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Democrats hold a 51-49 majority in the Senate, with the advantage of having Vice President Kamala Harris as a tiebreaker vote if needed. As a result, Republicans only need to flip one Senate seat to win the majority should they win back the White House in 2024. If they do not regain the Oval Office, the party only needs to secure two extra Senate seats.
There are 34 Senate seats up for grabs in the 2024 election cycle. Of those, Democrats must defend 23, compared to just 11 for Republicans, and nearly all competitive seats are held by Democrats, putting them on the defensive as they try to maintain their slim majority.
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