GOP Senate hopeful rakes in $2.2 million to take on Dem incumbent in swing-state Nevada

FIRST ON FOX: A Republican Senate candidate in battleground state Nevada, Sam Brown, pulled in $2.2 million in the first quarter of 2024 for his challenge to incumbent Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.

The former U.S. Army captain, who was injured in Afghanistan, raised the sum in the first three months of the election year, as he inches closer to clinching the Republican nomination for Senate and taking on Rosen in November. 

“It’s clear that Nevadans are tired of Jacky Rosen and liberal elites telling them how to raise their kids and saying that gas and grocery prices being so high isn’t really that bad,” Brown said in an exclusive statement to Fox News Digital. “I’m running to end Joe Biden and Jacky Rosen’s American Nightmare and restore the American Dream for all Nevadans.”

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Brown is the front-runner in the primary and could face Rosen in November. (Getty Images)

The $2.2 million total garnered between January and March is more than Brown raised in both previous quarters. In the third quarter of 2023, he brought in $1.1 million, and in the fourth quarter he upped it to $1.85 million. 

Rosen’s campaign did not reveal her fundraising for the first quarter of the election year or provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

“Nevadans see through Jacky Rosen’s pandering to the reality of her record: she consistently votes for open borders and reckless DC spending bills that skyrocket the cost of groceries and gas prices,” said Brown spokesperson Kristy Wilkinson. “Nevadans are ready to replace her with Sam Brown’s strong common-sense leadership.” 

The stakes in Nevada were raised on Wednesday when non-partisan race analyst the Cook Political Report shifted the race’s 2024 rating from “Lean Democrat” to “Toss Up.” The Nevada Senate race joins only three others in the category: Arizona, Montana and Ohio. 

Brown’s first quarter total is more than 2022 Republican Senate candidate Adam Laxalt pulled in at the same point in the midterm election cycle. Laxalt saw $1.6 million during January through March 2022. He ultimately lost to Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.

Brown ran for the nomination in 2022 but lost to Adam Laxalt.  (Sam Brown Senate campaign)

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While its unclear what Rosen’s fundraising looked like in the first months of 2024, she previously out-raised Brown in 2023. In the last quarter of the year, the incumbent senator brought in $3.2 million, which was on par with the $3.3 million Cortez Masto raised at the same point in 2021. 

While Brown has garnered national media attention, high profile endorsements and millions in fundraising, he still needs to clear the Republican Senate primary field. Other prominent challengers vying for the nomination are former Trump official Jeff Gunter, veteran Air Force pilot Tony Grady and former state Assemblyman Jim Marchant. 

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Gunter’s campaign did not provide fundraising numbers to Fox News Digital. 

“My message to the Sam Brown campaign: It doesn’t matter how much you raise, we will spend whatever it takes to get the job done. Whether it’s $3 million, $30 million or $300 million, I am more committed than ever to supporting President Trump and the America First movement. I will self fund if that’s what it takes,” said Gunter in a statement.

He added that he plans to flood the airwaves over the next few months to bring voters his “America First, 110% pro-Trump message.” Gunter slammed Brown as “beholden to his donors and beholden to Trump hater Mitch McConnell, Nikki Haley and the failing political class.”

Gunter is looking to take Brown down in the primary. (State Department, Sam Brown for Nevada)

Brown endorsed former President Trump in January, but Trump hasn’t yet weighed in on the contentious Nevada Senate primary. However, Brown was a top recruit of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, chaired by Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., who quickly endorsed him. He has also been endorsed by Republican conference Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo. Other members of the Republican Senate leadership team have attended fundraisers for the candidate. 

Grady did not release his fundraising to Fox News Digital, but hit Brown in a statement as “a wannabe career politician.” According to the Republican candidate, Brown is trying to “buy himself a seat in Washington with the help of his big-donor friends.”

“I am the only candidate meeting with Nevada voters face-to-face and hearing the issues important to them. Instead of focusing on the Washington-elite, I will continue to listen to Nevada voters,” he added. 

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Marchant did not provide comment to Fox News Digital. 

The Nevada Senate primary will take place on June 11.

Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.