Former Trump appointee Jeffrey Ross Gunter readies Nevada Senate launch

Former Ambassador Jeffrey Ross Gunter, a Republican, intends to announce a run for Senate in Nevada in early August, a source familiar with his plans tells NBC News.

Gunter, a dermatologist and GOP donor, will square off in the Republican primary with Sam Brown, a retired Army captain, and Jim Marchant, the GOP’s 2022 candidate for secretary of state who propagated election conspiracy theories. The candidates are vying for the seat held by Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, who is running for a second term.

Gunter served as then-President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Iceland, and he attended Trump’s June speech in Bedminster, New Jersey, following Trump’s indictment by the special counsel on charges that he mishandled classified documents.

The National Republican Senatorial Committee endorsed Brown when he announced his candidacy to take on Rosen in early July. Brown is among four Republican candidates that the GOP campaign committee has formally backed in its effort to help push its preferred candidates in 2024 primaries, following the party’s failure to capture the Senate majority in 2022.

A source familiar with Brown’s fundraising says he raised over $400,000 in his first week as a candidate.