Nevada
Sam Brown opponent painted as MAGA phony in high-stakes Nevada Senate race – Washington Examiner
Jeff Gunter has leaned on his MAGA credentials as he mounts a long-shot bid for Nevada’s Democrat-held Senate seat, highlighting his time spent as ambassador to Iceland under former President Donald Trump.
But it’s another part of Gunter’s background that is coming under scrutiny from a coalition of Trump allies and national Republicans who want to see front-runner Sam Brown prevail in the June primary: a voting and donation history they say contradicts his attempts to carry the MAGA mantle in the race.
Gunter, who runs a dermatology practice in the Los Angeles area, has for years been registered as a Democrat in California, according to voting records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
Those records have dogged Gunter even before he launched his candidacy in August, providing his critics an opening to paint him as an out-of-state elite and fake conservative. He registered in Nevada as a Republican in 2021, six months before his latest California registration, but has acknowledged he at one time considered himself a Democrat.
“You know, Republicans often accuse their opponents of being California liberals, but this is one time when it’s actually true,” said one Trump-aligned operative not involved in the Nevada Senate race.
The line of attack belies his history as a prolific GOP donor, and the Gunter campaign notes his long tenure on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He began his California dermatology practice in the 1990s but has operated offices in Nevada for years.
But that donation history, which stretches back two decades, also shows Gunter has given to some of Trump’s biggest Republican foes, among them former Rep. Liz Cheney and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who voted to impeach, and in the case of Collins convict, the former president following the Capitol riot.
He donated to Cheney in 2016 and Collins in three separate cycles — 2008, 2014, and 2020 — according to Federal Election Commission records.
Gunter’s opponents have attempted to weaponize those donations, plus his lack of voting record in 2020, to frame him as disloyal to Trump. Gunter voted in the Nevada primary in February but before that had not cast a ballot since 2018, according to voting records obtained by the Washington Examiner.
“Jeff Gunter embarrassed President Trump with his clownish actions as ambassador, didn’t vote for Trump in 2020, and even donated to Liz Cheney. This guy can’t be trusted,” said one national GOP strategist who works on Senate races.
A 2021 State Department report found Gunter had created a “threatening and intimidating environment” during his stint as ambassador.
Erica Knight, a campaign spokeswoman, forcefully pushed back on the idea that Gunter is anti-Trump. “He was one of President Trump’s biggest advocates in both 2016 and 2020 and has never supported Democrats,” she said in a statement.
Gunter’s donation history includes $200,000 he gave to the Trump Victory PAC and Trump Inaugural Committee.
Knight further alleged that Gunter voted for Trump by mail in 2020 while performing his duties in Iceland, alluding to unfounded claims of fraud in addressing the lack of voting record.
“It is not surprising that a vote for Trump was ‘lost,’” she said, adding that his February vote in Nevada was cast for Trump.
The decided focus on Gunter’s loyalty to Trump underscores the former president’s continued sway with Republican voters, in Nevada and nationally, as he runs for a second term in the White House. But it also suggests an attempt by Brown’s allies to flip the script on what, until this point, has been Gunter’s narrative about Brown: that he is a Never Trumper.
Brown, a retired U.S. Army captain who mounted an unsuccessful run for Senate in 2022, is supported by Republicans in congressional leadership, including Steve Daines (R-MT), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Meanwhile, Trumpworld is divided over the race.
Brown was an open Trump supporter in 2020, door-knocking for his campaign, and even critiqued his 2022 rival, Adam Laxalt, for not doing more to challenge President Joe Biden’s election win.
But his endorsement of Trump this go around, which came in January, months later than his opponents, opened him up to questions over his continued allegiance to the former president.
Gunter calls him “Scam Brown” and has, in an attempt to take the outsider lane in the race, accused him of being a puppet of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who attended a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for Brown in December.
McConnell, who has faced bitter personal attacks from Trump, fell out with the former president over the Jan. 6 riot.
“Sam Brown is backed by Trump-haters like Mitch McConnell and the Ukraine First caucus inside the DC swamp. Sam fits the mold of career politician, except he’s never actually won a race,” Knight said. “The choice for Nevada voters could not be any clearer.”
A second Trump-aligned operative noted that Gunter has repeatedly donated to McConnell’s reelection committees.
“I don’t think Gunter is going to be able to successfully paint his opponents as the establishment pick when he helped fund the establishment,” the operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said.
The battle over fealty to Trump comes at a critical time in the race. There are just eight weeks until the June 11 primary, and the former president has yet to issue an endorsement that could prove decisive.
He posted a graphic on Truth Social Friday suggesting that a Trump-Brown ticket in Nevada is the path to victory in November but has not offered his formal support.
Brown made a trip to Mar-Lago the other week to ask for his endorsement, according to CNN. The trip follows a pilgrimage Gunter made in March, in which he held a fundraiser at the property attended by Trump.
Gunter is not the only Republican challenging Brown for the Republican nomination. In fact, his nearest competitor appears to be Jim Marchant, a Trump ally who lost last year’s race for Nevada secretary of state.
An internal poll released by the Brown campaign on Thursday shows Brown with 58% support to Marchant’s 6. Gunter is tied for third at 3%.
Nonetheless, Gunter raised eyebrows with a $3.3 million ad buy he announced earlier this month. He reserved the first $654,000 on Thursday, airing a TV ad that leans into his ambassadorship.
“When the stakes were high, Trump chose Gunter to represent the USA,” the 30-second spot declares.
He also counts hard-right Trump supporters, including Laura Loomer and Roger Stone, in his corner. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) attended an event for Gunter earlier this month.
Already, Democrats are seizing on the attempts by Brown and his opponents to curry favor with the former president, framing them as “MAGA extremists” who would attempt to roll back abortion access nationally if elected to the Senate.
The winner of the primary will face Democrat Jacky Rosen, a one-term senator who consistently leads the polls but fares the worst against Brown.
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Brown’s allies have cited that polling in urging Gunter to drop out, fearing the bitter primary could hurt Republicans’ chances in a race that political handicappers rate a “toss-up.”
“We are running out of clock here, and it’s election season,” said the second Trumpworld operative. “We’d like to coalesce behind somebody sooner than later.”
Gabe Kaminsky contributed to this story.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom won’t admit it, but a move by President Donald Trump is especially helpful to drivers in California — and Nevada.
Gasoline prices are pressuring consumers around the country. On Friday, the average U.S. price was $4.55 a gallon. In California, that would be a bargain. The average there was $6.16 a gallon. Nevada’s average was $5.23 a gallon, the result of around 88 percent of the state’s gasoline coming from California.
It might be getting worse — regardless of what happens in Iran.
In recent months, two major California refineries have shut down. That represented a 17 percent reduction in California’s refining capacity. Their closures weren’t caused by the Iran war, but by Gov. Newsom and California’s relentless attacks on fossil fuels.
To make up for the fuel it won’t extract or refine in-state, California depends on imports from foreign countries.
“We are importing 30 percent of our crude oil from the Middle East,” Mike Ariza, a former control board supervisor at the Valero Benicia Refinery, said in an interview. He has been warning the public about California’s potential fuel shortage. “There are not very many ships left on the way that have fuel,” he said last month.
Last week, KCRA-TV in Sacramento reported that “about 2 million barrels of oil are in the process of being unloaded in Long Beach off of the last California-bound tanker that got through the Strait of Hormuz.”
At a California legislative hearing Tuesday, Siva Gunda, the vice chairman of the California Energy Commission, said the state has enough gasoline to accommodate demand for the next six weeks. That’s not a very long time, especially given that it takes weeks or months for oil to travel from the Middle East to California. And that process won’t begin until the Strait of Hormuz reopens.
There is a region, however, with abundant oil available for sale and safe passage — the southeastern United States. Unfortunately, the Jones Act, an antiquated 1920 law, mandates that only U.S.-flagged ships may move cargo between U.S. ports. But only 55 of the more than 7,000 oil tankers worldwide comply with this requirement.
This is where Mr. Trump rode to the rescue. Late last month, the White House announced Mr. Trump would suspend the Jones Act for another 90 days. In March, he originally waived it for 60 days. This will make it easier for California and Nevada to obtain domestic product.
If only Mr. Trump could also suspend the destructive energy policies imposed by Gov. Newsom and California Democrats.
LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — An adoptable pet is in the spotlight for “Furever Home Friday,” with Amy from the Nevada SPCA featured in a segment highlighting an animal available for adoption today.
The Nevada SPCA encouraged viewers looking to add a pet to their family to consider adopting.
Alex LaRosa hit for a .262 batting average in 50 plate appearances for the Bishop Gorman baseball team through its 32 games played entering Thursday.
But with a chance for the Gaels to punch their ticket to the Class 5A state tournament, LaRosa came up with the biggest swing of his season.
LaRosa hit a solo home run in the top of the sixth inning and broke a tie game, which proved to be the deciding run in Gorman’s 8-4 win over Centennial on Thursday night at Durango High in a 5A Southern Region winners bracket final.
The Gaels (28-6) have qualified for the 5A state tournament, which begins May 14 at Las Vegas High. The Gaels also advance to Saturday’s 5A Southern Region title game at 10 a.m. Saturday at Durango.
“My teammates, they just push me to be better in everything to do,” LaRosa said. “I know if I get on, they’re going to to get the job done and score me. My job, hitting in the bottom of the lineup is making sure I get on base anyway I can. I just put a good swing on the ball and it got out.”
Centennial falls to the losers bracket final and will play either Arbor View or Palo Verde at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Gorman’s opponent for Saturday and the South’s second spot in the state tournament. Arbor View and Palo Verde play in an earlier elimination at 4 p.m. Friday at Durango to determine Centennial’s opponent.
”It feels good, we fell short the last couple of years (of reaching the state tournament),” LaRosa said. “It just feels good to finall be in it and hopefully we keep going and win it.”
LaRosa’s blast was much needed after a disastrous bottom of the fifth inning for Gorman. The Gaels led 4-0, but Centennial (25-10) cut into the deficit when Jaxon Burr singled which scored Chase Hurley, who led the inning off with a triple.
Then Jake Turner hit a fly ball to left-center field, and as Gorman center fielder DeMari Hall and Logan Grubbs dived for the ball, they collided and the ball went all the way to the wall for a two-run, inside-the-park home run.
Four batters later, Gorman catcher Austin Argenta threw to first base to pick off runner Trevor Henson, but Argenta’s throw was wild and sailed into left field, scoring Kane Barber from second, tying the game.
“I had just given a speech right before we went out to hit that we were good, we weren’t losing this game,” LaRosa said. “We’re still in this game and the dugout went crazy. We just exploded after that.”
LaRosa, who finished 2-for-4 with two runs scored, followed up with his home run in the top of the sixth, which hit the top of the left field fence. That caused a brief discussion between the three umpires before they confirmed it was a home run.
“I was just looking for a fastball to drive into the gap so my teammates could drive me in, but I got lucky, back spun it and it got out of here,” LaRosa said. “At first, I thought it was gone and then I looked up and the ball bounced back in the field.
“Then the (umpire) told me it was a home run and I kind of blacked out. It was a surreal feeling.”
Grubbs added an RBI single in the top of the seventh for Gorman. Chase Wilk was 2-for-4 with a home run in the second, a run scored during a three-run Gorman fourth inning and an RBI on a ground out in the seventh.
Justin Rodrigues had a two-run double in the fourth capped off the fourth inning for Gorman, which put the Gaels ahead 4-0. Rodriguez went 2-for-4 and recorded the final three outs on the mound for the Gaels.
Hurley and Burr each had two hits and a run scored for Centennial.
“It feels good, just returning to a national powerhouse that we were,” LaRosa said. “It’s the standard to be in the state tournament every year and compete for that state championship. So it feels good to bring the culture back to Gorman.”
Other 5A baseball results
No. 2S Arbor View 11, No. 2M Faith Lutheran 3: At Durango, Devin Martin’s two-run home run capped off an eight-run fourth inning for Arbor View, which helped the Aggies (30-7) roll past Faith Lutheran (16-15) in a 5A Southern Region elimination game.
In the fourth inning against Faith Lutheran, the Aggies scored twice on bases loaded walk, a wild pitch, a two-run single from Rhett Bryce and an RBI single by Angelo Ugarte before Martin hit his home run.
Martin finished with three RBIs and Ugarte added two RBIs. Rookie Shepard and Kingston Kela each recorded an RBI for Faith Lutheran.
No. 3M Palo Verde 7, No. 2D Desert Oasis 5: At Durango, Stone Amsden’s grand slam highlighted a seven-run seventh inning to give Palo Verde the lead, and the Panthers (26-8) held on to beat Desert Oasis (26-8-1) in an elimination game.
Desert Oasis, the Desert League’s No. 2 seed, led 4-0 entering the seventh. Owen Anderson and Matthew Simmler each had an RBI single, and Kyle Johnson scored in a wild pitch before Amsden’s homer put the Panthers, the Mountain League’s No. 3 seed ahead.
Amsden finished 2-for-4 for Palo Verde. The Panthers had just six hits.
Lincoln Guillermo was 2-for-4 with a home run for Desert Oasis, and Brody Griffith was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Landon O’Dell had an RBI single for the Diamondbacks and Aidan Smith added an RBI and a run scored.
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
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