As Sam Brown lay in the Afghan desert, engulfed in flames and doused in diesel fuel, he knew he was about to die.
It was September 2008, and Brown, then a lieutenant in the U.S. Army, was leading a platoon to rescue fellow soldiers who had been ambushed by the Taliban. Then his Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb. Amidst the explosion of fire and the sound of a concussion, Mr. Brown's life was changed forever.
“I remember lying face down in the dirt of the Kandahar desert, trying to scoop dirt to extinguish the flames without success, and thinking: How long will it take until it burns out? What if I die? ?'' Brown recalled in an interview with the New York Times. “And I literally made the decision to give up my will to live.”
But he survived. Brown's fellow soldiers, who were also injured in the explosion, rescued him, and his platoon provided first aid until he was evacuated to a hospital. He underwent more than 30 surgeries during his three-year recovery at a burn facility in Texas, leaving him with permanent scars.
Brown, 40, who has now retired as a captain due to illness, is a leading Republican challenging Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in what is expected to be one of the most competitive Senate races this term, and could make a decision. There is sex. Chamber control. On his campaign trail, Mr. Brown ignored his own dramatic history and focused on inflation and border issues that are deeply felt by many Nevadans. But his experience trying to raise the money needed to mount a statewide campaign against a deep-pocketed incumbent is central to his appeal to his supporters.
His email said, “God is real. I almost met him,” and “They blew up my body, but they will never destroy my spirit.” He compared headlines about his “violent” attitude to his own burn scars. “Want to see something fiery, friend? I'm literally fiery,” the email read, which included a photo of his scarred face. “I will stand in the fire; I will take the flame.”
And Brown said he was inspired to run because he wanted to help people suffering in their worst moments, just as his comrades helped him in Afghanistan. .
“I feel there's a lot of hopelessness in this country right now,” he said. That's the best. ”
Brown, who lost the 2022 Nevada Senate Republican primary and has never held elected office, could face a formidable opponent in Rosen. Her campaign cited Brown's relatively short time in the state (she moved to Reno from Dallas in 2018) and her past 12 years in various startup, nonprofit and consulting positions. The plan is to emphasize her bipartisan reputation while making this case. Not making him the best person to help the Nevadans since leaving her military.
Democrats especially want to highlight Brown's past opposition to abortion and recent attempts to soften his stance. (A bill to enshrine abortion access in the state constitution is scheduled for a vote in November, and the issue's political potency has emboldened Democrats nationally in recent elections.)
Still, Amy Tarkanian, former chairwoman of the Nevada Republican Party, said that by avoiding a painful primary battle, Brown is no better than other recent candidates deemed too extreme for ordinary Nevada voters. He said it may be avoiding some of the pitfalls of other companies.
Mr. Brown, who had a significant financial and polling advantage, skipped a debate with his rival as surveys showed he had double-digit approval ratings in the June 11 primary. did. Although he has participated in some community events, he has not been particularly visible on the campaign trail. At a Nevada Republican Club luncheon in Las Vegas in February, he told guests that he has held relatively few campaign events in the state as he travels around the country to raise money. Admitted. (His campaign raised $2.4 million last quarter and has set a goal of raising $20 million overall.)
By changing his rhetoric on abortion, Brown is trying to appeal not only to conservative voters but also to independents who could swing the general election. He has also avoided becoming too tied to former President Donald J. Trump, although he has been more vocal about his admiration for the president in recent months.
“I think it's refreshing that Republicans are willing to take the other side's point of view and say, 'No, this is what I believe.' I'm not going to give in to the noise of the far right,” Tarkanian said. Told.
His main rivals, and Rosen's campaign, are less impressed. Mr. Brown waited until January to endorse Mr. Trump, but that delay was too much for the right to ignore.
“He hardly even mentions President Trump's name,” said primary candidate Jeff Gunter, who served as Trump's ambassador to Iceland. “That's part of the fraud. Making voters think he's supporting the president in some way, when that's not actually the case.”
Brown has recently appeared on TV networks such as OAN and Newsmax, as well as right-wing conspiracy theorist Wayne Alyn Root's podcast, and has become more outspoken about his support for Trump and his conservative beliefs. became. “In my view, President Trump's policies clearly left the American people in a much better position than they are today,” Brown said. At a campaign event in Reno on Saturday, he told reporters that he is “very conservative.”
Mr. Trump has not announced his support for the race, but he has shared several images on his social media site, Truth Social, that appear to show his enthusiasm for Mr. Brown. “Democrats fear a united front between Trump and Brown in Nevada!” one post read. (Republican Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo supports Brown.)
On abortion, Democrats say no amount of moderate language will convince voters that his views have really changed.
“Sam Brown's record shows that he promotes extreme MAGA policies that hurt hard-working Nevadans,” said Johanna Warshaw, a spokeswoman for Rosen's campaign.
Brown supported a 20-week abortion ban with exceptions for rape and incest when he ran for the Texas state legislature in 2014 while living in Dallas, but has not said in the past whether he would support a national abortion ban. was refusing. procedure. After his first run for the Senate, he briefly served as president of the Nevada chapter of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a conservative Christian group that vocally opposes abortion.
Lately, he has been trying to clarify his position. In an interview with NBC News in February, his wife, Amy Brown, said that when she became pregnant unexpectedly at age 24, she made the difficult and emotional decision to have an abortion. In the interview, Brown said he did not support a national ban, agreed with current law in Nevada that allows abortions up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and supported exceptions for rape, incest, and maternal life. Ta.
He reiterated that position in an interview with the Times, saying he believes abortion should be left to the states, a position Trump also accepts.
“I can't do anything to change Nevada's laws, and I'm not going to change Nevada's laws,” Brown said, adding, “I do not support a federal ban on abortion.”
Some Republicans suggested that Mr. Brown needs to make sure voters know where he stands on this and other issues, as well as his own life story.
“As people meet him and listen to him speak at conferences, they're starting to realize that we need more than just a military story,” Tarkanian said. “And he's lived in Nevada long enough to run for office for the second time, whereas Jacky Rosen has probably lived in Nevada for over 40 years.”
Brown's campaign has said that Brown has detailed his positions on a variety of issues (including esoteric ones like virtual currency), has a business degree and runs a pharmacy benefits management company. He pointed to the timing and claimed to have substantial experience beyond his military career. I helped veterans get their medicine.
Her campaign wants to turn the race into a referendum against Rosen, saying she has done little to help Nevadans struggling with soaring gas and housing costs.
Still, his success may ultimately depend on whether his personal story resonates with voters. Jeremy Hughes, a political strategist for the Nevada Republican Party, said Brown “has the ability to drive a message that every voter will know by Election Day.” “It will be an open question whether voters' unique understanding of the sacrifice of Sam Brown's military service will be enough to win him the race.”
