New York Times: Brown went after Gunter for the first time “after Mr. Gunter accused him in ads and appearances of being disingenuous and not sufficiently pro-Trump”
Breaking new reporting from the New York Times revealed that MAGA extremist Sam Brown is escalating the already messy Nevada Senate primary by going after former Trump Ambassador Jeff Gunter directly during a private fundraising event this week, in yet another desperate attempt to win over the MAGA base.
Until now, Brown has refused to answer questions or engage in debates with his GOP primary opponents – saying he wouldn’t participate in “anything that tears down other Republicans.”
It’s yet another hypocritical reversal for Brown, who started out this election refusing to endorse Trump, but has since gone all-in on his unequivocal support for the disgraced former president, embarking on a right-wing media tour praising Trump’s leadership, saying Trump is the reason he’s running for Senate, and even flying to Mar-a-Lago to beg for Trump’s endorsement directly.
Read more about the messy infighting happening in the GOP Senate primary:
New York Times: Nevada G.O.P. Senate primary heats up as the long shot goes after the front-runner.
April 20, 2024
By Kellen Browning
Key points:
- Nevada’s once-sleepy Republican primary for Senate … was jolted to life in the past week, when a deep-pocketed rival took aim at the front-runner.
- Jeff Gunter, the ambassador to Iceland under former President Donald J. Trump, is unloading a $3.3 million advertising campaign with a MAGA message, according to his campaign, hoping to cut into Mr. Brown’s dominant lead over the crowded field.
- A television ad from Mr. Gunter that began airing on Wednesday called Mr. Brown “the newest creature to emerge from the swamp,” tying him to Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, and deriding his primary opponent as “Scam Brown.”
- Mr. Brown has sought to employ the Trump campaign handbook, skipping debates and focusing his attention on Senator Jacky Rosen, the Democratic incumbent, rather than on his Republican rivals.
- That changed on Thursday, when Mr. Brown appeared to address Mr. Gunter for the first time, at a private fund-raising event in Sparks, Nev., after Mr. Gunter accused him in ads and appearances of being disingenuous and not sufficiently pro-Trump.
- “You might hear some noise out there, and people who show up from places like California from seven months ago, who want to name-call me this or that,” Mr. Brown told attendees, according to a recording obtained by The New York Times. “And that’s going to happen and we expect that out of people who were literally Democrats a year ago, to play that sort of game. But just keep your head down. You know who I am.”
- His comments appeared to be focused on Mr. Gunter.
- A group backing Mr. Brown’s campaign, the Duty First PAC, ran its first television ad this week since last year, a $322,000 reservation, according to the tracking firm AdImpact. Mr. Brown’s campaign declined to comment on Mr. Gunter.
- “I salute his patriotism, he served his country, he was wounded in battle. But aside from those things, he’s basically a three-time loser,” Mr. Gunter said, citing Mr. Brown’s failed bid for the Texas State House when he lived in Dallas in 2014 and his loss in the 2022 Nevada Senate primary. (Mr. Brown also explored, but eventually dropped, a run for the Nevada State Assembly.)
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