Republicans are making a last-ditch effort to flip Nevada's Senate seat, optimistic that a strong performance from former President Donald Trump in the state could boost Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown.
The Senate Leadership Fund, the main GOP super PAC involved in Senate races, plans to spend $6.2 million on TV, radio and digital ads in Nevada, according to ad spending figures shared first with NBC News.
It is the group's first spending in the state, marking a relatively late entry into the contest, which has been characterized so far by a split between a competitive presidential race and a more comfortable position for Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in public polling. The Senate Leadership Fund has spent tens of millions of dollars in other Senate battlegrounds in recent months. It's a sign that Republicans view Rosen's re-election race as increasingly competitive.
"Jacky Rosen has been a reliable vote for the Democrats’ extreme agenda and is a lackluster candidate," Senate Leadership Fund president and CEO Steven Law said in a statement. "President Trump is doing very well in Nevada and we think Sam Brown can too.”
Nevada Republicans believe the state's economic struggles and a rightward shift among Latino voters have put it in play for the GOP. Nevada has been known for close races, with Joe Biden winning Nevada by just 2 points in 2020 and Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto winning re-election in 2022 by fewer than 8,000 votes.
“It might be the best environment Republicans have seen in a presidential year in 20 years,” Nevada GOP strategist Jeremy Hughes recently told NBC News.
But Brown, an Army veteran, has lagged behind Trump in public polls, and some Republicans have raised concerns that they could be missing an opportunity to flip the Senate seat.
A recent AARP poll found Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris by 2 points among likely voters in Nevada, 49% to 47%, within the survey's 4-point margin of error. But the same survey showed Rosen was leading Brown by 5 points, 49% to 44%.
Rosen and her Democratic allies have long outspent Republicans on the airwaves. Since Labor Day, Democrats have spent a combined $38.3 million on ads in Nevada, while Republicans have spent $27.6 million. But Brown’s campaign, with a boost from the National Republican Senatorial Committee, has ramped up its spending this month, according to the ad-spending tracker AdImpact.
The Senate Leadership Fund has so far focused much of its resources on Montana and Ohio, two of the party's best pickup opportunities as the GOP looks to take control of the Senate. The group has also ramped up its spending in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Nebraska.
