Former President Donald Trump endorsed Retired Army Captain Sam Brown in the Nevada US Senate race on June 10, 2024. Brown is a Purple Heart Recipient and Army Captain who made military service central to his message. He often tells the story of a roadside bomb in Afghanistan that scarred his face and nearly killed him.
Trump described Brown as a 'Fearless American Patriot' with 'Pure Grit' and 'Courage.' The endorsement came after Trump spent the day in Las Vegas holding a rally, where several of the GOP Senate candidates were in attendance. Brown was widely seen as the front-runner over a crowded primary field.
The winner of Tuesday's Republican primary will face off with Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, who has become one of Republicans' top targets in 2024. The Nevada race is viewed as a pivotal pickup opportunity for the GOP, which seeks to win back the Senate majority from Democrats.
Trump chose Brown over several other candidates with close ties to him. One rival, Jeff Gunter, Trump's former ambassador to Iceland, had campaigned with the slogan that he is '110% pro-Trump.' Another candidate, Jim Marchant, ran as a Republican candidate for Nevada Secretary of State in 2022 on a platform of election denialism spurred by Trump's false claims of widespread election fraud.
Brown was heavily recruited by Republicans in Washington looking to avoid a repeat of their lackluster showing in the 2022 midterm elections. He made military service central to his message and often told the story of the roadside bomb that scarred his face and nearly killed him, as well as the leadership he learned while in the Army.
Following Trump's endorsement, Rosen called Brown her 'extreme MAGA opponent' on Twitter and criticized him on issues including abortion, health care, and social security.
