Trump calls Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown a ‘good man’ but stops short of endorsement
Former President Trump lauded Nevada Senate GOP candidate Sam Brown, calling him a “good man” during his Sunday rally in Las Vegas, but he declined to offer a full-throated endorsement ahead of Tuesday’s primary.
Trump attended a fundraiser on Saturday and spoke at a rally in the Silver State on Sunday, raising speculation that he might weigh in and make a last-minute pitch for Brown, who is running in the Republican contest to take on Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) this fall.
Brown faces two GOP challengers in the Republican primary, with his most serious competitor being former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Jeffrey Gunter, who served in the Trump administration.
But the former president only briefly touched on the GOP primary during his remarks, saying of the retired Army captain “you have a good man named Brown,” and he appeared to suggest he’d win in November, describing him as “a senator named Brown.”
Nevada is the only state with a competitive Senate GOP primary where Trump has declined to endorse a candidate.
Though Brown is anticipated to defeat Gunter in the primary on Tuesday and has had the support of Senate Republicans, the former president’s lack of an endorsement is still a blow to Brown who reportedly traveled to Florida earlier this year to get Trump’s backing.
But it may also speak to Trump’s decision to avoid weighing in between a candidate backed by Senate Republicans and a former official in his administration, Gunter, who’s also a notable Republican donor. Trump attended a fundraiser hosted by Don Ahern on Saturday, who has also backed Gunter.
Nevada is considered among a handful of states that will determine the race to the White House and control of the Senate. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) narrowly won reelection in 2022 against Republican Adam Laxalt by less than a percentage point.
The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Rosen’s seat as a “toss up.”
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