Sam Brown opponent painted as MAGA phony in high-stakes Nevada Senate race

Jeff Gunter has leaned on his MAGA credentials as he mounts a long-shot bid for Nevada’s Democrat-held Senate seat, highlighting his time spent as ambassador to Iceland under former President Donald Trump.

But it’s another part of Gunter’s background that is coming under scrutiny from a coalition of Trump allies and national Republicans who want to see front-runner Sam Brown prevail in the June primary: a voting and donation history they say contradicts his attempts to carry the MAGA mantle in the race.

Gunter, who runs a dermatology practice in the Los Angeles area, has for years been registered as a Democrat in California, according to voting records reviewed by the Washington Examiner.

Those records have dogged Gunter even before he launched his candidacy in August, providing his critics an opening to paint him as an out-of-state elite and fake conservative. He registered in Nevada as a Republican in 2021, six months before his latest California registration, but has acknowledged he at one time considered himself a Democrat.

“You know, Republicans often accuse their opponents of being California liberals, but this is one time when it’s actually true,” said one Trump-aligned operative not involved in the Nevada Senate race.

The line of attack belies his history as a prolific GOP donor, and the Gunter campaign notes his long tenure on the board of the Republican Jewish Coalition. He began his California dermatology practice in the 1990s but has operated offices in Nevada for years.

But that donation history, which stretches back two decades, also shows Gunter has given to some of Trump’s biggest Republican foes, among them former Rep. Liz Cheney and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), who voted to impeach, and in the case of Collins convict, the former president following the Capitol riot.

He donated to Cheney in 2016 and Collins in three separate cycles — 2008, 2014, and 2020 — according to Federal Election Commission records.

Gunter’s opponents have attempted to weaponize those donations, plus his lack of voting record in 2020, to frame him as disloyal to Trump. Gunter voted in the Nevada primary in February but before that had not cast a ballot since 2018, according to voting records obtained by the Washington Examiner.

“Jeff Gunter embarrassed President Trump with his clownish actions as ambassador, didn’t vote for Trump in 2020, and even donated to Liz Cheney. This guy can’t be trusted,” said one national GOP strategist who works on Senate races.

A 2021 State Department report found Gunter had created a “threatening and intimidating environment” during his stint as ambassador.

Erica Knight, a campaign spokeswoman, forcefully pushed back on the idea that Gunter is anti-Trump. “He was one of President Trump’s biggest advocates in both 2016 and 2020 and has never supported Democrats,” she said in a statement.

Gunter’s donation history includes $200,000 he gave to the Trump Victory PAC and Trump Inaugural Committee.

Knight further alleged that Gunter voted for Trump by mail in 2020 while performing his duties in Iceland, alluding to unfounded claims of fraud in addressing the lack of voting record.

“It is not surprising that a vote for Trump was ‘lost,’” she said, adding that his February vote in Nevada was cast for Trump.

The decided focus on Gunter’s loyalty to Trump underscores the former president’s continued sway with Republican voters, in Nevada and nationally, as he runs for a second term in the White House. But it also suggests an attempt by Brown’s allies to flip the script on what, until this point, has been Gunter’s narrative about Brown: that he is a Never Trumper.

Brown, a retired U.S. Army captain who mounted an unsuccessful run for Senate in 2022, is supported by Republicans in congressional leadership, including Steve Daines (R-MT), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee. Meanwhile, Trumpworld is divided over the race.

Brown was an open Trump supporter in 2020, door-knocking for his campaign, and even critiqued his 2022 rival, Adam Laxalt, for not doing more to challenge President Joe Biden’s election win. 

But his endorsement of Trump this go around, which came in January, months later than his opponents, opened him up to questions over his continued allegiance to the former president. 

Gunter calls him “Scam Brown” and has, in an attempt to take the outsider lane in the race, accused him of being a puppet of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who attended a Washington, D.C., fundraiser for Brown in December.

McConnell, who has faced bitter personal attacks from Trump, fell out with the former president over the Jan. 6 riot.

“Sam Brown is backed by Trump-haters like Mitch McConnell and the Ukraine First caucus inside the DC swamp. Sam fits the mold of career politician, except he’s never actually won a race,” Knight said. “The choice for Nevada voters could not be any clearer.”

A second Trump-aligned operative noted that Gunter has repeatedly donated to McConnell’s reelection committees.

“I don’t think Gunter is going to be able to successfully paint his opponents as the establishment pick when he helped fund the establishment,” the operative, who requested anonymity to speak candidly, said.

The battle over fealty to Trump comes at a critical time in the race. There are just eight weeks until the June 11 primary, and the former president has yet to issue an endorsement that could prove decisive.

He posted a graphic on Truth Social Friday suggesting that a Trump-Brown ticket in Nevada is the path to victory in November but has not offered his formal support. 

Brown made a trip to Mar-Lago the other week to ask for his endorsement, according to CNN. The trip follows a pilgrimage Gunter made in March, in which he held a fundraiser at the property attended by Trump.

Gunter is not the only Republican challenging Brown for the Republican nomination. In fact, his nearest competitor appears to be Jim Marchant, a Trump ally who lost last year’s race for Nevada secretary of state.

An internal poll released by the Brown campaign on Thursday shows Brown with 58% support to Marchant’s 6. Gunter is tied for third at 3%.

Nonetheless, Gunter raised eyebrows with a $3.3 million ad buy he announced earlier this month. He reserved the first $654,000 on Thursday, airing a TV ad that leans into his ambassadorship.

“When the stakes were high, Trump chose Gunter to represent the USA,” the 30-second spot declares.

He also counts hard-right Trump supporters, including Laura Loomer and Roger Stone, in his corner. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) attended an event for Gunter earlier this month.

Already, Democrats are seizing on the attempts by Brown and his opponents to curry favor with the former president, framing them as “MAGA extremists” who would attempt to roll back abortion access nationally if elected to the Senate.

The winner of the primary will face Democrat Jacky Rosen, a one-term senator who consistently leads the polls but fares the worst against Brown.

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Brown’s allies have cited that polling in urging Gunter to drop out, fearing the bitter primary could hurt Republicans’ chances in a race that political handicappers rate a “toss-up.”

“We are running out of clock here, and it’s election season,” said the second Trumpworld operative. “We’d like to coalesce behind somebody sooner than later.”

Gabe Kaminsky contributed to this story.