Although President Donald J. Trump refrained from endorsing a candidate in the Nevada GOP Primary for U.S. Senate during his rally in Las Vegas on Sunday, the former President announced his endorsement of Captain Sam Brown on Truth Social following the event. In his announcement, Trump mentions Brown’s military service and claims Brown “WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN.”

Brown has received the backing of the Republican Senatorial Committee and broke fundraising records at the end of last year, raising a record $1.85 million in the fourth quarter, “more than any challenger to an incumbent running for re-election in Nevada history.”

Senator Rosen announced a fourth-quarter haul of $3.2 million with $10.6 million cash on hand, setting another Nevada record for an incumbent in the race for the U.S. Senate. According to FEC documents, out-of-state donors accounted for over 90 percent of the approximate $3.2 million Rosen raised in the last quarter of 2023, compared to less than 9 percent donated by Nevada residents.

Brown has led the crowded GOP primary field in endorsements and fundraising, despite challenger Dr. Jeff Gunter investing $3 million into the race. Dr. Gunter, President Trump’s former Ambassador to Iceland, released a series of digital and television ads painting Brown as an “establishment” candidate picked by Senate Leader Mitch McConnell. Gunter also nicknamed his leading challenger as “Scam” Brown in the wake of a CNN report that found that Brown’s PAC established to “help elect Republicans” used much of the small-dollar donations to pay down debt from his failed Senate campaign against Adam Laxalt, with less than 2 percent PAC funds spent to help elect Republicans in 2022.

In 2022, Laxalt lost to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto by less than 8,000 votes and the 2024 fight for control of the U.S Senate is predicted a “toss up” by the Cook Political report.

Brown has referred to Rosen as a “foot soldier” for President Joe Biden as Rosen votes with the President 93 percent of the time. In turn, Rosen has labeled Brown as a “MAGA extremist.” As Rosen embraces Biden’s agenda, Biden is tanking in the polls, especially with Independents–a growing voting demographic in Nevada.

In 2020, Biden won Nevada by a razor-thin two percent, defeating President Trump by a margin of 25,000 votes. At that time, Biden’s approval rating hovered around 57 percent. According to first-quarter polling from Gallup, Biden’s approval rating sits at 38.7 percent–an approval rating worse than any modern-day president seeking reelection.