Sam Brown: a decorated Army veteran and the Republican leadership's favorite to win in Nevada

Steve Daines (R-MT) remains focused on his mission to recruit Republican candidates who are competitive and can bring back the GOP majority in the Senate. In his role as chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), he is on a mission to see that more Republicans are elected to the Senate in 2024 and that those already elected retain their seats. After successfully convincing Jim Justice and Tim Sheehy to enter the race in West Virginia and Montana, he scored another victory in Nevada.

The Montana Republican celebrated the entry of Sam Brown, a decorated Army veteran, into the Nevada Senate race. The 39-year-old was also a candidate in the 2022 midterm elections, but was defeated in the primaries by Adam Laxalt. On election night, he received 34% of the votes compared to the 55% for the former attorney general, who ended up losing the general election by a difference of 0.8 points to Catherine Cortez Masto.

Brown received the Purple Heart and a Bronze Star during his time in the military, years that left him with some scars. He was struck by a bomb while deployed in Afghanistan, an episode that resulted in 30 percent burns to his body and some visible scarring. After a bid for Congress in 2014, he moved with his wife to Reno, where he started a business providing medications for veterans.

Unlike 2022, this time he has the full backing of the Republican leadership. "Sam Brown’s life of service and sacrifice is an inspiration to all Americans. I am very pleased that Sam is stepping up to run for the U.S. Senate," Daines told POLITICO.

The words of his colleague may send a clear signal to state Republican donors to rally behind his candidacy, which up to now has been threatened internally by Jim Marchant, former state congressman and candidate for Secretary of State (2022) and House of Representatives (2020).

In a statement following the announcement of his campaign, Brown emphasized that he would run showcasing his military experience."In the military, no one asks you what party you are in. They just want to know they can count on you to get the job done. That’s the attitude we need to tackle the problems of today," he wrote.

Daines' approach to running the NRSC appears to be completely different from Rick Scott (R-FL), who was in charge during the 2022 election. Unlike his colleague, he is intervening in state primaries to position the candidate he believes has the best chance of prevailing in a general election as the favorite, something he has made clear on several occasions.

Another of his priorities is the ability of candidates to self-finance their campaigns, a requirement Brown does not meet but is able to support himself with his fundraising skills. For example, he raised $4.3 million during his 2022 campaign.

The Republican will be tasked with unseating Jacky Rosen (D-NV), who came to the Senate after defeating Republican incumbent Dean Heller by a 5 percentage point margin. He, along with Kyrsten Sinema, was one of two Democrats to flip seats in the 2018 midterm elections.