Sam Brown, Nevada’s Republican candidate for Senate, has positioned himself as a relatable “small-town” candidate with salt-of-the-earth values whereas he challenges Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen for her swing seat.
Nevertheless, not solely do his household ties complicate that picture, but in addition current studies by the Federal Election Fee reveal that Brown has raked in cash from each the oil and gasoline business and its rich tycoons since his political inception. He additionally displays a questionable observe document of political spending, with three complaints filed with the FEC towards him for misappropriating funds by an excellent PAC affiliated with him.
Large oil’s affect
Current studies from the FEC make clear Brown’s monetary ties to the oil business. Since 2021, he has accepted over $215,000 in contributions from the oil and gasoline business, both from its corporations, workers, PACs, affiliated organizations, or lobbyists, in keeping with a Day by day Kos evaluation of FEC knowledge. This yr, donors even embrace PACs tied to Koch Industries and Halliburton.
These monetary ties could possibly be why Brown has come out towards growing photo voltaic and wind farms within the state. And his political historical past reveals a constant sample of alignment with the oil and gasoline business’s agenda. In 2014, when he was operating for workplace in Texas, Brown seems to have acquired a big $10,000 marketing campaign contribution from oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens, a serious participant in Texas politics.
Observe: FEC knowledge contains restricted data for figuring out donors, which implies it may be onerous to find out for sure whether or not and the way a particular individual donated, although donating in one other individual’s title is prohibited.
Anti-environmental agenda
Brown treats the existential menace of local weather change as a nonissue, one thing worthy of ignoring. He has brazenly opposed the Inflation Discount Act, which is anticipated to assist create over 24,000 clear power jobs in Nevada. He has additionally advocated for the reopening of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste dumping web site, and voiced his opposition to photo voltaic and wind power growth.
“Our family’s like a very avid outdoors family,” he stated in a current interview at IndyFest. “I don’t want to see 12 million acres covered with solar panels or highly reflective metals. That’s going to destroy part of the beauty and the things that makes Nevada attractive, are those sorts of projects.”
Are his considerations about preserving Nevada’s panorama from real environmental preservation, or are they a canopy for the oil and gasoline business’s pursuits?
Authorized troubles
Including to the controversy round Brown is a current FEC criticism filed by the marketing campaign finance watchdog Finish Residents United. The criticism alleges that Responsibility First Nevada PAC, which is affiliated with Brown, illegally coordinated together with his Senate marketing campaign within the manufacturing of a marketing campaign video.
This marks Finish Residents United’s third FEC criticism towards the Republican candidate this cycle, drawing consideration to the moral implications of his marketing campaign financing practices and elevating additional doubts about his transparency as a candidate.
Modest beginnings? Extra like rich background
“I wasn’t born into power. I’m from small-town America,” Brown stated in an advert for his earlier failed Senate bid, in 2022.
However a more in-depth take a look at his household historical past tells a unique story. His prolonged household owns the Cincinnati Bengals, an NFL workforce valued at round $4 billion in 2023. As Day by day Kos reported in September, this has offered a monetary enhance to Brown’s political ambitions, with relations showing to donate hundreds to his numerous political campaigns.
This rich lineage underscores the dissonance between Brown’s self-portrayal as a person of the folks and the fact of his prosperous household ties.
