‘Out of the way’: Sam Brown to challenge Rosen for US Senate seat

SPARKS — Army veteran Sam Brown officially threw his hat into the ring for U.S. Senate on Monday, drawing sharp contrast between himself and current Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen.

During a Monday afternoon event in Sparks, the retired U.S. Army captain didn’t shy away from branding Rosen as being “out of touch with reality” and painting himself as the best candidate for the job.

“It is time for Jacky Rosen to get out of the way,” Brown said. “It is time for us now to replace Jacky Rosen with a leader who will focus on our state, on our values and our priorities.”

Brown focused much of his announcement speech on what he dubbed “Nevada values,” contrasting them with “Rosen and her D.C. values,” which he pointed to as the cause for increased inflation, among other issues.

Brown named several conservative policy issues at the center of his campaign, including calling for parental involvement in classrooms.

“Being able to observe our curriculum is a requirement,” Brown said. “It’s a problem when a bureaucratic D.C. has more access to our classrooms and our curriculum than parents in our community.”

Brown also named public safety as one of his priorities and called for movement to “secure our border” and pledged to back “those in wear the uniform.”

And Brown’s comments weren’t just limited to Democrats from Nevada. Brown branded Rosen “a foot solider” for President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Brown will join election denier and former secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant in the Republican primary. The winner of that fight will challenge Rosen in the 2024 General Election.

Just hours before the event began, Rosen’s campaign announced it had $7.5 million after adding $2.7 million to the incumbent senator’s war chest in the second quarter of 2023.

Rosen first won the seat in 2018, beating out then-Republican Sen. Dean Heller.

It will be the retired U.S. Army captain’s second run to represent Nevada in the U.S. Senate. Brown ran in a crowded Republican primary last year to challenge incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, but lost against former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt.

In a statement, Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Johanna Warshaw said the primary would reveal the Republican candidates as “deeply flawed.”

“With the entrance of Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate Sam Brown, Republicans are in for a brutal and messy primary that will expose their deeply flawed candidates as out of touch with hardworking Nevadans,” she said.

Contact Taylor R. Avery at TAvery@reviewjournal.com. Follow @travery98 on Twitter.