McConnell, Thune expected to attend fundraiser for Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.) are expected to attend a fundraiser for Nevada Senate candidate Sam Brown (R) on Tuesday in Washington, according to an invitation obtained by The Hill. 

Brown is among several Republican contenders vying for Sen. Jacky Rosen’s (D-Nev.) seat next year as the GOP looks to recapture the upper chamber. McConnell and Thune’s expected participation in the Tuesday event underscores how Senate Republican leadership is rallying around the retired Army captain.

Brown is a West Point graduate who served in Afghanistan, where he was seriously injured and heavily scarred during an IED explosion. This cycle marks the second time he has run for a Senate seat in Nevada; he ran last cycle in the GOP primary to take on Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), but he lost his primary against Republican Adam Laxalt. Laxalt eventually lost to Cortez Masto in the general election.

McConnell’s scheduled appearance at Tuesday’s roundtable is especially notable because Brown has reportedly criticized the minority leader in the past.

“The other thing is, guess who else has endorsed Adam? Mitch McConnell. So it’s, you know, if we trust Mitch McConnell, well then, well, I’m sorry for you, but I don’t,” Brown said in November 2021, during his primary run against Laxalt, according to audio reviewed by CQ Roll Call.

This cycle, the retired Army captain is running with the support of many top Senate Republicans. Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.), chair of the Senate GOP campaign arm, said in a statement following Brown’s entry into the race in July that he was “very pleased” to see Brown running.

Thune, meanwhile, told The Washington Examiner in August that he had encouraged the retired Army captain to enter the race. 

Brown’s campaign defended his past comments in a statement to CQ Roll Call. “Sam’s message has been consistent throughout: He wants to change Washington and put people first,” the campaign told the news outlet in a statement back in August.

“The difference this time is that other people are recognizing he is the best candidate to do that.”

The Nevada Senate race is among the most competitive races next year. During the midterms, Cortez Masto’s victory clinched the Democrats’ majority in the upper chamber.

Brown is facing a number of high-profile challengers in the GOP primary, including former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter, former secretary of State candidate Jim Marchant and retired Air Force Lt. Col. Tony Grady, who ran for lieutenant governor last cycle and lost his primary. 

Brown is already facing attacks from Gunter, who has dubbed him “Never Trump Sam Brown” in an ad, as well as “Scam Brown.” He has targeted Brown over his lack of an endorsement for former President Trump in the 2024 GOP primary.