Uniparty Disarray: Mitch McConnell Attacks Kari Lake And Then Complains About His Hand-Picked Candidate Sam Brown “Facing A Tough” Nevada GOP Senate Primary

In a recent interview with Politico, Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell took an unnecessary shot at Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake and then complained about his hand-picked Senate Candidate in Nevada, Sam Brown, “facing a tough” GOP Senate Primary. Brown’s weak support of President Trump and Brown’s refusal to debate his opponents despite in 2022, Brown heavily criticized his GOP primary opponent, Adam Laxalt, for refusing to debate him, has turned many Nevada GOP voters away from him. Kari Lake, on the other hand, has been vocal about her support for President Trump and willingness to take on the establishment.  McConnell’s comments to Politico prove that Lake is a U.S. Senate candidate Trump supporters should support, and Sam Brown is not. 

McConnell told Politico, “You don’t know in April who might be able to win. You’ve got quality candidate we think in Wisconsin, a quality candidate in Nevada who’s got a tough primary apparently.  and who knows about Arizona.”

McConnell has invested heavily in Brown, so it is easy to see why he is concerned about the status of Brown’s race. FEC records show that on December 22, 2023, McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee donated $5,000 to Sam Brown for Nevada. 

Donations are far from the only thing McConnell has provided to Brown. In December 2023, Mitch McConnell hosted a fundraiser for Sam Brown in Washington, D.C. 

Brown’s closeness to McConnell combined with his hypocrisy on the debate issue, is causing Brown’s polling numbers to free fall. Brown criticized his 2022 GOP Primary opponent Adam Laxalt for skipping out on debates, once writing, “We received confirmation that Adam Laxalt refuses to participate in the  @8NewsNow prime time debate. Adam Laxalt is a typical career politician—cowardly hiding from voters and any accountability for his history of failures. Nevadans deserve better, Nevadans demand better.”  Brown believes it is cowardly for Laxalt to skip debates with him but not for him to skip debates against Dr. Gunter.”

Sam Brown has had a troubling past regarding supporting President Trump. On August 25th, 2023, Brown informed Punchbowl News that he would not endorse Trump. Punchbowl reported, “Brown is being exceptionally cautious when it comes to Trump. He declined to say whether he’s comfortable with sharing the GOP ticket with Trump in Nevada, which will be competitive once again at the presidential level as well.”

In October 2023, Brown again declined to endorse Trump, with the NBC News report reading, “In Nevada, retired Army Capt. Sam Brown, who lost a Senate primary last year against a Trump-backed candidate, also has declined to endorse Trump. Two of Brown’s 2024 primary rivals — former Trump ambassador to Iceland Jeff Gunter and Jim Marchant, a 2020 election denier who lost a race for secretary of state last year — have emphasized their endorsements of Trump.”

Kari Lake, on the other hand, is the exact opposite of Sam Brown. Lake has always supported President Trump and has not been afraid to criticize the establishment. 

McConnell’s comments on Lake and Brown show one candidate controlled by the establishment and one controlled by the people.