Nevada Democratic US Sen. Jacky Rosen, at union hall rally, makes reelection bid official

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen announced Monday at a union hall in Las Vegas that she has officially filed for reelection in a presidential battleground state that is a top GOP target in a challenging 2024 Senate map.

The first-term moderate Democrat launched her campaign for a second term last year, and 10 Republican challengers have crowded the field to oppose her. Rosen has not drawn a top-name Democratic opponent.

Rosen was introduced by leaders of plumbers and pipefitters, firefighters, electrical workers and the powerful local hotel worker unions and told members their backing is going to be key to keeping Democratic control of the Senate “and stopping those MAGA Republicans from arguing every single bill.”

She also put the abortion debate at the center of her remarks. Democrats nationally have tried to focus voters on the Supreme Court decision in June 2022 to overturn its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision that legalized the right to end a pregnancy.

“I am never going to back down when it comes to our reproductive rights, which are at risk,” Rosen said.

GOP hopefuls in the Senate race include Sam Brown, a retired Army captain who ran for Senate in 2022 and has backing from party leaders in Washington, D.C.

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His campaign manager, Faith Jones, tied Rosen to Biden in a statement critical of unemployment, housing, and food and grocery costs.

Other GOP challengers include Jim Marchant, who lost a run for Nevada secretary of state in 2022 after emerging as an outspoken denier of Democrat Joe Biden’s 2020 presidential election win over former President Donald Trump.

Marchant released a statement through his campaign also linking Rosen to Biden, faulting Biden’s stewardship of the economy and foreign policy.

“Nevadans are angrier than they were in 2016 and are ready for the MAGA movement,” the statement said.

Trump lost Nevada in 2020 by more than 30,000 votes to Biden, despite legal challenges from Republicans and campaign aides who claimed but did not provide evidence of election irregularities.

Nevada’s other U.S. senator, Catherine Cortez Masto, is a Democrat who was reelected in November 2022.