Fifteen candidates are running in the June 11 Republican primary election for the U.S. Senate in Nevada. Two candidates, Sam Brown (R) and Jim Marchant (R), lead in polling and media attention.
According to Nevada Current Deputy Editor April Corbin Girnus , Nevada congressional candidates’ stances on former President Donald Trump (R) and his policies are a “terse political minefield candidates on both sides of the aisle are walking in preparation for next year’s general election.” Brown and Marchant both endorsed Trump for president, though Trump has not endorsed either candidate in the Nevada primary. Trump twice endorsed Marchant during his bids for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District in 2020 and Nevada Secretary of State in 2022.
According to Gabby Birenbaum, D.C. correspondent at the Nevada Independent, “The support of governors and senators [for Brown] underscores the national Republican apparatus’ belief in Brown’s potential to beat Rosen. Last cycle, former Attorney General Adam Laxalt lost to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) by less than 1 percentage point. His national fundraising also speaks to the difference between being an insurgent and being the Washington-backed front-runner. Brown proved to be a strong grassroots fundraiser in 2022, a label he invokes often on the campaign trail.” Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo (R) endorsed Brown.
In Marchant’s response to Ballotpedia’s 2022 Candidate Connection survey, he opposed “establishment politics” during his time in the Nevada state Assembly. Marchant wrote, “President Donald Trump describes Jim Marchant as a ‘Legendary Businessman’. As a businessman, he was tired of the government punishing job creators so Jim decided to take matters into his own hands, he ran and defeated a tax-raising moderate/liberal Republican in the Nevada Assembly District 37 in 2016. While in the Nevada Assembly, he fought against the Establishment in both parties for lower taxes, less burdensome regulations, gun rights, and a more transparent government.”
Brown is a business owner. Brown ran in the 2022 Republican Senate primary and the Republican primary for Texas House District 102 in 2014. While deployed in Afghanistan in 2008, an IED explosion wounded Brown and injured his face. Brown has highlighted that experience and his recovery process throughout his campaign.
On Brown’s campaign website, he says he would support policies that will reduce taxes, increase energy independence, limit the role of the federal government in state and local issues, stop illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, and increase funding for veteran services.
Marchant is a former member of the Nevada state Assembly, representing District 37 from 2018-2020. Marchant’s professional experience includes founding the Federation of Internet Service Providers of America (FISPA). Marchant has highlighted his professional experience throughout his campaign. Marchant won the Republican primaries for Nevada’s 4th Congressional District in 2020 and the 2022 Republican primary for Nevada Secretary of State but lost in both general elections.
Marchant describes himself as a MAGA Conservative, a term often associated with the platform of former President Donald Trump (R) and candidates who say they support Trump’s agenda. On his campaign website, Marchant says he supports policies that would eliminate the U.S. Department of Education, limit illegal immigration at the U.S. Mexico border, eliminate mail-in ballots in elections, and reduce energy prices.
Also running in the primary are Cornell Clark (R), William Conrad (R), Heath Fulkerson (R), Vincent Geronimo Rego (R), Tony Grady (R), Jeff Gunter (R), Eddie Hamilton (R), Ronda Kennedy (R), Barry Lindemann (R), Garn Mabey (R), Gary Marinch (R), Stephanie Phillips (R), and Shawn White (R).