Trump-backed candidate Sam Brown achieved a decisive victory Tuesday night in the Nevada Republican primary senatorial race.
Jeff Gunter, former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland during Trump’s administration, received 16,713 votes (16.3%), while former Nevada State Rep. Jim Marchant garnered 6,923 votes (6.7%).
In a Truth Social post on Sunday, Trump described Brown as a “FEARLESS AMERICAN PATRIOT” and a “Purple Heart Recipient,” praising his “PURE GRIT” and courage to confront “ENEMIES, both Foreign and Domestic.”
Gunter criticized Trump’s endorsement of Brown, alleging it was a pay-to-play scheme. Previously, Gunter had appeared in late-night infomercials promoting an anti-wrinkle skin serum product. A lawsuit claimed the product infected a man with a disease.
Brown, injured by an IED explosion in Afghanistan, suffered severe burns. The blast also resulted in the death of one platoon member and injuries to three others.
“At the time, I still believed for months that I was going to be able to recover. I thought, ‘oh, hey, Doc, patch me up, get me better, send me back to my guys.’ It took me months to really reconcile just how bad off I really was. It turned into a three-year recovery instead of just what I was hoping would be a couple of months.”
On the Democratic side, first-term senator Jacky Rosen received 105,833 votes (92.4%), while her opponent Troy Walker received 3,620 votes (3.2%). “None of these candidates” received 2,590 votes (2.3%), and Mike Schaefer received 2,470 votes (2.2%).
Brown will face Rosen in the general election in November.
