Two more Republicans jump into 2024 Nevada Senate race

Two Republicans–Air Force Veteran Tony Grady and former US ambassador to Iceland Jeffrey Gunter–have entered the 2024 Nevada Senate race.

Both men are running to unseat Democrat Jacky Rosen in what will be one of the most competitive Senate races next year. 

Grady’s announcement came in the form of a “minute-long, action movie-themed launch video,” which emphasized crime, illegal immigration, and inflation as key issues.

On the issues page of his campaign website, Grady also expresses anti-abortion views, calls for greater “parental choice in education,” (rhetoric that usually means supporting school vouchers that divert money from public schools to cover private school tuition), and opposition to gun safety laws.

His site includes nothing about worker-friendly policies, addressing extreme weather, or health care costs and access, however.

This isn’t the first time Grady has run for office. Last year, he ran for lieutenant governor and lost. During his campaign, he said that if elected, he would “fire the Nevada state board of educators, shift more power in the public education curriculum to local school boards instead of the state,” and criticized critical race theory. 

Ultimately, Grady lost in the GOP primary to current Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony. 

Gunter, on the other hand, is a dermatologist, major Republican donor, and former Trump appointee who filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Aug. 4. 

In his campaign announcement video, Gunter makes several broad promises to tackle inflation and address other key issues—without providing specifics—while railing  against President Biden and aligning himself with former President Donald Trump.

“I’ll fight to support Donald Trump and his amazing and great America First agenda,” he says in the video. 

While serving as US ambassador to Iceland, Gunter garnered much scrutiny. He was accused of creating an “untenable” work environment within the embassy, for example. Gunter also requested a firearm and extra security measures for himself, even though Iceland is one of the safest countries in the world. He also referred to COVID-19 as “the invisible China virus” on social media.

Shortly after Gunter announced his campaign, Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Johanna Warshaw released the following statement: 

“Another day, another MAGA Republican joining the messy Nevada Senate GOP primary,” she said. “No matter who emerges from this extreme field of candidates, it’s clear they will be entirely out of step with hardworking Nevadans.” 

In addition to Grady and Gunter, the Nevada GOP Senate primary field includes Jim Marchant, a former Nevada state assemblyman and election denier who lost his race for Nevada Secretary of State last year, and US Army veteran Sam Brown. 

Brown, who lost in Nevada’s Republican Senate primary last year and previously ran for office in Texas, is the preferred candidate of the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Brown opposes reproductive freedom and gun safety laws and denied the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, amplifying Trump’s lies of voter fraud.

Regardless of who emerges from the Republican primary, next November’s general election race is likely to be among the most competitive in the nation. Last year, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican candidate Adam Laxalt by only 8,000 votes.

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