Brown has repeatedly changed his campaign website to hide his extreme anti-abortion views, on which he “seems not to be evolving but evading”
New reporting from Mother Jones takes a deep dive into how MAGA extremist Sam Brown has been attempting to cover up his extreme anti-abortion views from Nevadans by repeatedly changing his messaging on the issue on his campaign website.
While Brown has been working overtime to conceal his anti-abortion agenda, Nevadans are learning more about his decade-long anti-choice crusade.
Nevada State Democratic Party Spokesperson Katharine Kurz
“Sam Brown knows that his decade-long anti-abortion record will be rejected in pro-choice Nevada, so he’s desperately trying to cover up his unpopular views on his campaign website. Nevadans won’t fall for his misleading and disingenuous attempts to rewrite history.”
Learn more about how Brown tried to rewrite a decade of anti-abortion stances and rhetoric on his campaign’s website:
Mother Jones: GOP Senate Candidate in Nevada Can’t Stop Shifting His Position on Abortion
David Corn
September 5, 2024
- In July 2023, Brown’s site offered a brief and clear message on abortion: “Every life is precious, and it is in our American interest that we protect the lives of unborn babies just as we would protect the life of any other American. As a Senator, I will oppose any federal funding of abortion and only support U.S. Supreme Court Justices who understand the importance of protecting Life.” This was routine, if somewhat vague, rhetoric for a politician who calls himself “pro-life.” No mention of exceptions. No talk of respecting those who support women’s freedom on this matter.
- The following month, Brown’s website expanded its statement on abortion, adding that he opposed late-term abortions and abortions without parental notification.
- By the end of February, the “Life” section on Brown’s website had changed again. He still stated his opposition. But Brown added a twist: “Nevada voters have made it clear where they stand on this issue, by enshrining protections for abortion in our state law. As a U.S. Senator, I will not vote to overturn the decision of Nevadans—I will not support a national abortion ban.” He added, “We must come together, as a nation, to engage in honest dialogue to personalize—not politicize — this important issue and make sure all voices are heard.”
- The current version of Brown’s website contains yet another alteration to the “Life” section. It now states, “I am pro life, with exceptions for the tragic cases of rape, incest, and the life of the mother.” Brown had added the standard exceptions (though he said for the “life” not the “health” of the mother) that he had once seemed to oppose.
- In Texas, he was a full-throated anti-abortion crusader. Four years after his failed campaign there, he managed the campaign for a Texas congressional candidate who called for an abortion ban with no exceptions. Brown also served as the executive board chairman of the Nevada Freedom and Faith Coalition whose national chapter has been a champion for severely restrictive anti-abortion measures.
- …Brown is having trouble navigating this bob-and-weave course. Ever since the Nevada initiative qualified for the ballot in late June, he has declined to say publicly how he would vote for it—a dodge that looks like another step designed to keep him from being pegged as a die-hard abortion foe in a state where abortion rights are popular during an election season in which the Republican war on reproductive rights is a top issue.
- Yet this week, the Nevada Independent published audio from an August 28 campaign meet and greet in which Brown, not surprisingly, privately suggested he would not vote for the measure: “I’m not for changing our existing law. Our existing law has been in place for over 34 years. The ballot measure would change the law and essentially [create] no limit on access to abortion.”
- There have long been politicians who have changed their minds on abortion. But Brown has not said he has altered his view. In this case, he seems not to be evolving but evading.
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