One of the heavyweight battles in the upcoming election is the race for U.S. Senate in Nevada between Donald Trump-backed Sam Brown, a retired Army captain, and incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen. But Brown’s campaign has been stagnating lately, as my Silver State colleague Brittany Sheehan wrote in her column ahead of Thursday night’s debate between the candidates:
Nevada’s flagship status serves as a fire alarm for Republican Senate candidate Capt. (Ret.) Sam Brown, who gained notoriety during the Republican National Convention when former President Donald Trump highlighted his sacrifices as a Purple Heart recipient seriously injured in Afghanistan.
However, Brown’s path to victory on this crucial battlefield appears to be becoming increasingly complex. He consistently failed to outperform incumbent Democratic Senator Jacky Rosen and found it complex to keep up with her fundraising efforts. The National Republican Senatorial Committee’s recent decision to cut $7.4 million in advertising from Sam Brown’s campaign signals increasing concerns about his viability as a candidate. Since then, they have reinvested about $1 million at a reduced rate, allowing for more ads but reflecting a cautious approach. Without significant improvements in polling and funding, Brown’s chances of success appear to be dwindling.
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But it’s not over yet.
Brown’s campaign, which recently underwent a personnel shakeup, expressed optimism that Donald Trump can add momentum to the vote, a a campaign spokesman said in a statement:
We are confident that Nevadans who vote for President Trump will also support Sam and other Republicans in the vote. Sam Brown will continue to close the gap and fight for every single vote. The momentum is on our side.
Read more: Political pulse in the desert: Sam Brown’s campaign sputters ahead of debate – VIP
In fact, his fortunes in the race seem to be heading in the right direction. His numbers are rising, while first-time incumbent Rosen’s numbers are trending down. When we last checked with Real Clear Politics in slow September, my colleague Adam Turner’s Senate summary had Rosen ahead by 10 percentage points, 50 percent to 40 percent.
Read more: ANALYSIS: Return to Senate races
Now, with three novel polls available (9/20 – 10/13), Brown appears to have started, albeit slightly close this gap to 5.5; Rosen leads 48.8 percent to 43.3 percent. But it’s this cold moment from Thursday night’s debate that’s garnering the most attention for Republicans – a solid, stunning blow that focuses on whether those we hire to represent us in D.C. deserve the trust, that we offer them.
Sam Brown turned a stupid question about UFOs (probably about Area 51 in Nevada) into an attack on Rosen’s supposedly superficial, Nancy Pelosi-esque stock trading.
Regard:
With this one moment in the debate, Sam Brown may have just won the Nevada Senate race. They asked whether Congress should investigate UFOs, and he said they should instead focus on investigating his Democratic opponent Jacky Rosen for muddy insider trading
“What does Rosen trade in?… pic.twitter.com/ShxIszIf6E
– George (@BehizyTweets) October 18, 2024
Brown initially admitted that he was “as curious as anyone” about the existence of UFOs, adding that he had “never seen such technology when I was in military service.” He continued, saying that while he wouldn’t necessarily trust Congress to get to the bottom of this, “maybe Elon Musk can.”
This is where his brilliant turning point occurred, which you can see in the clip where he accused the senator of “violation.”[ing] the STOCK Act [Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012] several times.” And Rosen tried to play it off, complain that his answer had nothing to do with UFOs, and then added:
I graduated as a waitress and always worked hard; that was exposed. All of this has been exposed.
Her campaign told the NY Times that Rosen “has not traded any individual stocks in the last five years.”
Stay tuned!
