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Sam Brown

Hilarious Republican Mud Bath In Nevada Senate Primary

A new ad in Nevada’s GOP senate primary features a photoshopped image of Republican Sam Brown dancing on a stripper pole while Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) throws money at him. It is the latest example of how Republican in-fighting is consuming a crucial 2024 race.

Brown launched his campaign in July. He is an election denier and anti-abortion extremist, but support from McConnell and other Washington, D.C. insiders has made him a target for his competitors in the Republican primary. Brown and his opponents are hoping to take on incumbent Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in the 2024 election.

The ad is from the campaign of Dr. Jeff Gunter, a dermatologist who served as former President Donald Trump’s ambassador to Iceland from 2019 to 2021. In the spot, Gunter boasts that he is “110% pro-Trump.” For months, Gunter has been hitting Brown for not endorsing Trump’s 2024 campaign.

Gunter posted the following on the social media platform X: “Nevada Republicans take notice: nowhere on Scam Brown’s website does he endorse President Trump or even mention the America First movement. This McConnell-backed puppet can’t even say who he’s supporting for president in 2024.”

On Jan. 12, Brown seemingly caved to this pressure and endorsed Trump’s White House bid. A spokesperson for Brown’s campaign did not immediately respond to questions for this story.

Trump is extremely popular amongst Nevada Republicans. A recent Emerson College poll found 73% of likey Nevada GOP caucus voters support Trump. In recent weeks, Gunter has teased that Trump may soon endorse his campaign.

Brown previously ran for senate in 2022 but failed to advance past the Republican primary. At that time, Brown attacked his opponent Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt for having McConnell’s support.

“Guess who else has endorsed Adam? Mitch McConnell,” Brown said in a campaign event with the Republican Men’s Club of Northern Nevada on Nov. 21, 2021. “So it’s, you know, if we trust Mitch McConnell, well then, well I’m sorry for you but I don’t.”

In Dec. 2023, McConnell appeared at a campaign fundraiser for Brown. Gunter says this about face makes Brown a hypocrite.

Nevada’s Republican primary for senate is scheduled for June 11, 2024. According to personal finance disclosures, Gunter’s net worth exceeds $25 million, more than enough to self-finance his campaign.
Also competing is Jim Marchant, a former member of the Nevada Assembly who is aligned with QAnon conspiracy theorists.

Reprinted with permission from American Journal News.

Ted Cruz

For Ted Cruz, Trump Offers Another Chance To Kill Obamacare

In 2013, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) spoke on the Senate floor for 21 hours and forced a government shutdown in a failed gambit to kill the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. Ten years later, he’s still waging that war.

On Nov. 25, when former President Donald Trump suggested he will repeal Obamacare if he returns to the White House, Cruz was one of the first prominent Republicans to endorse that effort.

“I would love to see us revisit it,” Cruz, who is running for a third term, told NBC News on November 29. “Lowering premiums is critically important to Texans.”

This isn’t the first time Trump and Cruz have been allied on an Obamacare repeal push. In 2017, Cruz authored portions of the American Health Care Act, the Trump-endorsed bill that would have eliminated Obamacare. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that 23 million Americans would have lost their health insurance had the AHCA become law. When Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) cast the single vote that blocked that effort, Cruz was incensed.

“Mark my words, this journey is not yet done,” Cruz told reporters after the bill’s failure.

In the ensuing years, Cruz has routinely lambasted the program on social media. In a February 2018 Twitter post he said, “Few things have been more frustrating than seeing Republicans come short on repealing Obamacare.” In October 2020 he wrote, “I think Obamacare is a trainwreck.” On his current campaign website, he continues to advocate for full repeal.

“Since his first day in office, Sen. Cruz has been a leading voice for repealing Obamacare,” the site says. “He authored legislation repealing Obamacare’s individual mandate that was signed into law and remains committed to a full repeal of Obamacare.”

Texas has the second-highest number of Obamacare enrollees of all the states. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reports that 2.8 million Texans are insured through the program.

Texas has not expanded Medicaid, which Cruz also opposes. If it did, more than 1.4 million Texans would become eligible for Medicaid.

Cruz’s and Trump’s push is also out of step with public opinion. According to KFF tracking polls, nearly 60 percent of Americans had a favorable view of Obamacare as of May 2023. Another KFF poll found that 59 percent of voters trust Democrats, more than Republicans, to handle the program’s future.

A spokesperson for Cruz did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this story.

Rep. Colin Allred (R-TX), one of the Democrats challenging Cruz in 2024, tweeted on December 1 that it was unconscionable to talk about repealing the Affordable Care Act.

“I want to make sure that every Texan has access to affordable health insurance and affordable prescription drugs,” Allred told Spectrum News 1. “That should be the bare minimum that we can provide in our country.”

Reprinted with permission from AJ News.