Sam Brown wins Nevada’s GOP Senate Primary to challenge Democrat Jacky Rosen : NPR

People vote in the Nevada primary at a polling place on Tuesday in Henderson, Nev.

John Locher/AP

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John Locher/AP

Retired Army Capt. Sam Brown has beat out a crowded field of GOP primary candidates to win his party’s nomination for Nevada’s U.S. Senate race on Tuesday, according to a race call by The Associated Press.

He’ll face incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, who also won her primary Tuesday night, in a race that could help decide which party controls the U.S. Senate. Rosen has already focused her attention on Brown, describing him as a “MAGA extremist” in a recent campaign ad.

Brown received a late endorsement from former President Donald Trump and is backed by many state GOP leaders. So far during his senate campaign, he’s focused on his career in the military. While serving in Afghanistan in 2008, he was badly burned, when a bomb exploded under his armed vehicle. He later created a small business in Reno to help veterans access medication.

As both candidates look to November, they will need to gain support from the state’s largest group of registered voters, non-partisans. While many of these voters did not cast a ballot Tuesday since the state holds closed-party primaries, they make up more than 30% of active registered voters. That’s according to voter registration statistics from the Nevada’s secretary of state.