Las Vegas, Nevada — This Thursday, the intense focus of the political arena turns to Nevada’s U.S. Senate race, where incumbent Democrat Jacky Rosen is set to debate her Republican opponent, Sam Brown. This will be their only in-person debate before the early voting commences for the November 5 election.
The one-hour debate is being hosted by KLAS-TV in Las Vegas and will be broadcast live in both English and Spanish. This key battleground state is witnessing heightened concern among voters regarding critical issues such as abortion, inflation, and immigration, and both candidates have inundated the airwaves with campaign advertisements.
The outcome of this race holds significant implications for the balance of power in the Senate, where Democrats maintain a fragile lead over their Republican counterparts. The election sees Rosen, a first-term senator celebrated for her ability to forge consensus, go head-to-head with Brown, a retired Army captain who carries physical reminders of his battlefield service and has garnered the endorsement of former President Donald Trump. Both candidates have branded each other as extreme.
At a recent campaign rally in Reno, Brown outlined his agenda, vowing to enhance border security, make housing more accessible, bring down food, fuel, and medication costs, eliminate taxes on tips, and exempt Social Security benefits from taxation.
Contrastingly, Rosen contends that her opponent is disconnected from the average Nevada voter. Notably, nonpartisan and independent voters represent nearly 40% of the state’s 2.4 million electorate. In rural areas, voting trends lean Republican, while in the more densely populated regions of Las Vegas and Reno, Democratic preferences dominate.
Financially, Rosen has a considerable advantage, boasting a 3-1 lead in fundraising and advertising expenditures, alongside a favorable polling position. Notably, several Republican leaders have signaled their intention to support Rosen over Brown, including the mayors of Sparks and Ely.
Having lived in Las Vegas for over 40 years, Rosen enjoys a significant local support base. Before her political career, she was a computer programmer and served as president of a well-known synagogue in Henderson. She first entered Congress in 2016 and successfully unseated a Republican incumbent to join the Senate in 2018.
In contrast, Brown faced grave injuries in 2008 during his service in Afghanistan and spent years in recovery before his military discharge in 2011. He founded a business dedicated to assisting veterans with medical care and made an unsuccessful run for a seat in the Texas state legislature in 2014 before relocating to Nevada in 2018. Brown also attempted to challenge Democratic Senator Catherine Cortez Masto in the 2022 Republican primary but fell short.
Abortion rights are particularly pressing in Nevada, where voters are set to consider a ballot initiative that would enshrine a 1990 law authorizing abortions up to 24 weeks within the state constitution. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling establishing federal abortion rights, Democrats nationwide have prominently featured abortion rights in their campaigns.
Brown identifies as “pro-life,” and Rosen has accused him of supporting a potential nationwide abortion ban should he reach Washington, D.C. Brown and his wife, Amy, revealed previously to NBC News that she underwent an abortion prior to their marriage, while his campaign website asserts that he would honor the decision made by Nevadans as a senator.
Brown has been vocal in attributing rising inflation to the economic policies of the Biden administration as the country continues to recover from the pandemic. In response, Rosen has launched a new advertisement focusing on her efforts to reduce prescription drug prices, combat grocery store price-gouging, and manage housing expenses.
Additionally, Brown’s campaign is closely intertwined with Trump, who narrowly contested his loss to Biden in Nevada during the 2020 election cycle. Subsequently, the state’s leading election official received censure from the Nevada GOP for certifying that the election results were free from substantial fraud.
Early voting in Nevada is set to commence this Saturday.