Democratic US Sen. Jacky Rosen is reelected in Nevada, securing battleground seat

LAS VEGAS — Nevada Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen has won reelection, beating Republican Sam Brown in a tight but unusually quiet race for the battleground state.

The first-term senator had campaigned on abortion rights and positioned herself as a nonideological politician, a formula that also worked for the state’s senior senator, Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto, in her own reelection bid two years ago.

“Thank you, Nevada! I’m honored and grateful to continue serving as your United States Senator,” Rosen said Friday on the social platform X.

Brown, a retired Army captain who moved to Nevada from Texas in 2018 and has never held elected office, unsuccessfully tried to ride President-elect Donald Trump’s strong showing in the working-class state. Trump won Nevada on Friday.

The Associated Press left phone and emailed messages seeking comment Friday from Brown’s campaign. In a Saturday morning post on X, Brown thanked Nevada.

“Serving as your nominee has been the honor of a lifetime, and though the outcome is not what we hoped, I am deeply moved by the trust, dedication, and hope you’ve shown throughout this journey,” Brown said.

Brown had Trump’s support in the Republican primary and won easily, but he was significantly outspent during the campaign, leaving Rosen to dominate the airwaves for months.

Rosen, a former Las Vegas-area synagogue president and computer programmer, ran ads touting herself as an independent who doesn’t listen to “party leaders.”

Analysts note that Nevada has a history of backing no-nonsense senators who deliver funding from Washington.

Rosen also spotlighted her work on expanding broadband internet access and helping to connect Las Vegas with Southern California via light rail.

And she hammered Brown for his opposition to abortion rights, saying he would support a national abortion ban despite Brown’s statements that he respects Nevada voters’ choice decades ago to legalize abortions.

A ballot measure this year that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution passed. Voters must again approve it in 2026 in order to amend the constitution.

The Senate contest drew relatively little national interest for most of the campaign, a striking contrast with the presidential race as both Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris targeted the state and its six electoral votes. Conservative money flowed in during the final days as the GOP posted a strong showing in early period, but Brown was unable to fully fight back.

Brown, who was awarded a Purple Heart for his service in Afghanistan, was grievously wounded by an improvised explosive device there in 2008 and endured 30 surgeries as he recuperated. In campaign ads, he repeatedly mentioned that his face remains heavily scarred from the attack.

He is also the founder of a medical company that serves veterans.

Brown previously made an unsuccessful bid in 2022 for the Republican nomination to face Cortez Masto.

All four of Nevada’s U.S. House incumbents — three Democrats and one Republican — also won reelection this year.

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Riccardi reported from Denver.