'She's Going to Need It': Dem Senator Makes Historic Ad Buy After Race Moved to 'Toss Up'

After the nonpartisan election analyst The Cook Report upgraded Nevada's senatorial race from "Lean Democrat" to "Toss Up" on Wednesday, the Democrat incumbent 'in peril' has made a historic ad buy. On Thursday, Jacky Rosen's (D-NV) campaign made a $14 million fall advertising reservation, running from late July through the November election. According to Rosen's campaign, it is the largest in Nevada history, an assertion foreshadowing a very expensive battle to come.

Mike Berg, a spokesperson for the Senate GOP’s campaign arm said of Rosen's big buy,

She’s going to need it. The Nevada Senate race was moved to toss-up by the Cook Political Report yesterday because polls have consistently shown that, despite her incumbency advantage, Jacky Rosen is polling in the high thirties and low forties. That’s a dangerous spot.

Democrat Nevada Senator Jacky Rosen's Seat Is in 'Peril,' As Race Moves From 'Lean Dem' to 'Toss Up'

Rosen's unprecedented spending on TV and radio ads will receive a massive boost of $36 million from the Senate Majority PAC, aligned with Senate Majority Leader Charles "Chuck" Schumer (D-NY). This aggressive financial backing signifies Nevada is among several swing states that Democrats aim to safeguard to retain their narrow Senate majority. Recent statewide races have been fiercely contested, as seen in the narrow victory of incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto over Republican former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt in 2022 by a margin of less than 0.8 percent.

As RedState's analysis (linked above) pointed out, Rosen is seen as weaker than Masto was, while her likely opponent, Republican Captain (Ret.) Sam Brown, a revered combat veteran with military honors after an IED in Afghanistan left him disfigured, is considered to be a stronger challenger than Laxalt. Factors contributing to Rosen's vulnerability include a transient electorate, the lingering economic challenges in Nevada following the pandemic, and President Joe Biden's plummeting popularity.

Rosen will attempt to separate herself from Biden in her first ads, as RedState previously reported:

Rosen launched her first campaign ads, available in both English and Spanish, this week. These ads are strategically distancing Rosen from President Biden and the potential negative impact he might have in the state. In the primary ad, she highlights her independence by stating she has "stood up to [her] own party" on issues related to policing and border security. She also emphasizes her bipartisan credentials, citing her ranking as the ninth-most bipartisan senator, according to the Lugar Center at Georgetown.

While Rosen tries to distance herself from her record of voting with Biden 99 percent of the time, her campaign seems to be hoping to associate Republican candidates with former President Donald Trump, and "extremism.' Brown, the GOP front-runner, isn't the Republican in the race closely aligned with former President Donald Trump; He faces primary opponent Jeff Gunter, who is campaigning as "110 percent pro-Trump" after serving in his administration as an Ambassador, but the Rosen campaign uses a broad paintbrush toward the GOP field.

In a statement, Stewart Boss, Rosen's campaign manager, wrote,

While her extreme Republican opponents are busy trying to out-MAGA each other, Jacky Rosen is reaching Nevada voters for the general election and sharing her record as one of the most bipartisan and effective Senators.

In response to Rosen's ad buy, Brown, who is backed by the National Republican Senate Committee, said,