Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown spreads message of hope at RNC

MILWAUKEE — Nevada Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown and Donald Trump will “put America first again,” Brown told the thousands of Republicans during the second day of the Republican National Convention.

The Army veteran whose story of surviving an explosion on-duty in Afghanistan appealed to voters and inspired his Senate bid is challenging Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, a first-term senator and former computer programmer.

“Tonight I offer a message of hope because I know the importance of hope in difficult times,” he said. He told the story of how he suffered major burns when a bomb exploded under his vehicle at the beginning of his tour. He was burning alive, he said, but felt flames being smothered and heard a voice say, “Sir, I’ve got you.”

The Reno resident spoke during the convention’s theme of “Make America Safe Again,” where heavy-hitting speakers including former Ambassador Nikki Haley, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy — all of whom previously ran against Trump in the presidential primary — focused on immigration, foreign policy and crime as they voiced their support behind Trump.

Brown was one of several GOP candidates who pleaded their case and how they, alongside Trump, would improve the country if elected. Brown said Nevadans are suffering from inflation and high prices and said Trump’s proposal to end federal taxes on tips will help. He said more service members will be injured under Biden.

“Look at my face. This is the high cost of war,” he said. “If Joe Biden stays in office, more service members will pay this price.”

He said that both he and Trump have been through fire and that hope has not been extinguished but has been reignited. He ended his speech echoing the words the other soldier said to him, “America, I’ve got you.”

Nevada’s closely watched Senate race is expected to be tight, although polls show Rosen is performing better against Brown than President Joe Biden is against former President Donald Trump in Nevada.

“Sam Brown has always shown that he cares more about national politics & pleasing the far-right wing of his party over what’s best for Nevadans,” said Nevada State Democratic Party Spokesperson Katharine Kurz in a statement. “No matter what he said in Milwaukee, folks back home know the facts about his deeply unpopular record.”

Brown previously ran for Senate in 2022 but lost in the primary to former Attorney General Adam Laxalt.

‘Most frightening moments’

Lara Trump, co-chair of the Republican National Committee, closed out the second night of the convention. She told the crowd she had a different speech prepared, but it changed after the attempted assassination of her father-in-law.

Her family faces its fair share of death threats, she said, “but none of that prepares you as a mother to quickly reach for the remote and turn your young children away from the screen so that they’re not witness to something that scars the memory of their grandpa for the rest of their lives.”

“There is no doubt that Saturday was one of the most frightening moments of my father-in-law’s life,” Lara Trump said. “Millimeters separated him from life and certain death.” When he raised his fist in the air, it was not just for his supporters, but for the country and as a signal to the world that “no matter what, America will always prevail,” she said.

Immigration

The southern border — and what they see as Democratic inaction to immigration — propelled the Republicans’ narrative to tighten immigration forward on Tuesday.

Multiple speakers referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as the “border czar” and criticized her for not doing enough.

Biden has issued executive orders to tighten control at the border, but critics saw that as a political move to forward his position ahead of the election. The president has said he was forced to take action after Republicans blocked bipartisan legislation that included increased border security restrictions.

Republicans continued to propel the narrative that the border is the “biggest threat Americans face” and that migrants are crossing the border with bad intentions. “We have no idea who they are, where they end up or what they plan to do,” Haley said.

“Let me remind you, Kamala had one job. One job, and that was to fix the border. Now imagine her in charge of the entire country,” Haley said, referring to the potential for Harris to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee.

Israel

Matt Brooks, CEO of the Republican Jewish Coalition, highlighted Trump’s record on Israel, including bringing a U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and brokering the Abraham Accords between Israel and Arab countries.

He alleged Biden is withholding arms Israel needs to defend itself. Israel has received at least $12.5 billion in military aid from the U.S. since the Oct. 7 attacks.

“My message to the Jewish community is clear: There is only one pro-Israel party, and it is the Republican Party,” he said.

Contact Jessica Hill at jehill@reviewjournal.com. Follow @jess_hillyeah on X.