'Outsider' in Nevada's GOP Senate primary surges, rattling Trump's pick

[Celerity]

There are signs that grassroots support is propelling Sam Brown, a retired Army captain, though Adam Laxalt, a former state attorney general, maintains a solid lead in public polls.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2022-election/outsider-nevadas-gop-senate-primary-surges-rattling-trumps-pick-rcna31225


Republican Senate candidate Sam Brown at a Memorial Day ceremony at the Southern Nevada Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Boulder City on Monday.

An underdog candidate in the Nevada GOP Senate primary has unexpectedly tightened the race just two weeks before the election, powered by an enthusiastic grassroots base that appears increasingly inclined to turn away from longtime polling favorite Adam Laxalt. In recent weeks, retired Army Capt. Sam Brown has won three straw polls, including one taken of the Nevada state Republican Party. He is outpacing Laxalt more than 4 to 1 in small dollar donations, has outspent Laxalt on TV and has some 40,000 individual donations to his campaign. “Something is happening. And we believe we know what it is,” Sam Brown said in an interview with NBC News. “Momentum is clearly going in one direction.”

Laxalt, the former Nevada attorney general who vociferously opposed the 2020 election results, has for months stood as the presumed shoo-in for the party's nomination to take on Democratic incumbent Catherine Cortez Masto in a key race that could decide control of the evenly divided Senate. Laxalt enjoys former President Donald Trump’s endorsement, and popular Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis recently attended a rally for him — and the Laxalt name has been a brand in Nevada GOP politics for decades because Laxalt’s grandfather, Paul Laxalt, who died in 2018, served both as governor and a U.S. senator. Former New Mexico Sen. Pete Domenici, who died in 2017, was his father.

Still, there are signs of interest in an alternative — and indications that the primary, which takes place June 14, is far from settled. Brown is seen as an insurgent candidate whose “outsider” credentials are resonating among Republicans, according to interviews with nearly two dozen party officials, political volunteers, activists and Nevada voters. There is also frustration with Laxalt, who they view as too close to the Republican establishment. “From what I’m hearing out there, I honestly think Sam has a good chance of winning this,” said Vida Keller, Lyon County commissioner, who’s active in Republican politics and frequently attends GOP events.

Even as Brown appears to be gaining ground in polls, Laxalt maintains advantages. The Brown campaign’s own tracking polls of the race show the two candidates within the margin of error, according to an internal memo obtained by NBC News. Laxalt’s campaign pointed to public polls that show Brown trailing by double digits, though it would not share their own internal polling. In March, Laxalt led Brown by 38 points. Last month, Laxalt led Brown by 23 points. Two weeks ago, the latest public polling available, a Nevada Independent/OH Predictive Insights survey, had Laxalt leading by 15.

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