Runner-up criticizes Nevada GOP Senate nominee Sam Brown while other former rivals back him

RENO, Nev. (AP) — The bitter primary that saw nearly a dozen Republican Senate candidates swipe at retired Army Capt. Sam Brown is fading out of view for some, who say their quest to take down incumbent Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen trumps any intra-party grievances from the past 11 months.

Not runner-up Jeff Gunter.

“The America First faithful had zero interest in campaigning with him through the entire primary season where he relied on establishment influence and money to slide into a nomination,” Gunter said Wednesday after his distant second-place finish.

The dermatologist and former Trump-appointed Iceland ambassador continued to attack Brown as the establishment candidate in a lengthy statement in which he predicted outright that Rosen would win another term in November.

Gunter’s criticism could complicate early GOP efforts to coalesce around Brown. And it comes as the state Republican Party looks to move past the intra-party rifts in the primary to pivot into what is set to be among the most closely-watched Senate races of the year.

Gunter said former President Donald Trump’s late endorsement of Brown, which came in a social media post hours after he appeared in Nevada before the primary, would not be enough to convince loyal Republicans to support the nominee, who avoided debates and did not engage with the other 11 candidates in the race.

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