Decision Desk HQ has called the Nevada U.S. Senate race for Jacky Rosen.
Republican Sam Brown was looking to unseat Democrat incumbent Jacky Rosen. The GOP was looking to take back the seat they lost in 2018, when then-incumbent Dean Heller was defeated by Rosen. The positive early voting numbers in 2024, plus a nice cash infusion from Mitch McConnell’s Senate Leadership Fund (SLF) PAC, benefited Sam Brown going into Election Day. Here’s what the race looked like following SLF’s investment:
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According to NBC News, “It is the group’s first spending in the state, marking a relatively late entry into the contest, which has been characterized so far by a split between a competitive presidential race and a more comfortable position for Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen in public polling. The Senate Leadership Fund has spent tens of millions of dollars in other Senate battlegrounds in recent months. It’s a sign that Republicans view Rosen’s re-election race as increasingly competitive.”
There’s good reason for McConnell to be pouring money into Nevada, as the 2020 Senate race was won by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto by a mere 2 points, which translated to fewer than 8,000 votes. Although McConnell is stepping down as the Republicans’ leader in the Senate, he clearly doesn’t plan to go quietly and is determined to return control of the chamber to the GOP. Nabbing Nevada for Republicans would be the icing on the cake for McConnell, as it’s the home state of his late Democrat rival, Harry Reid.
Based on Cortez Masto’s very slim win in 2022, the hope was that a good performance by Donald Trump might just carry Sam Brown over the finish line and aid the GOP’s efforts to retake the Senate. With a 52-seat majority already, that didn’t hinge on Nevada, but it was a win they’d happily take.
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As anticipated, final election results out of Nevada took a while, though not as long as initially predicted. Here’s the timeline:
Election Night | After the Secretary of State’s Office has confirmed all Nevada polls are closed and the last voter has voted, the first results will be posted on Results.NV.gov.
If you are in line by 7 p.m. [PST] , stay in line. As long as you are in line by 7 p.m. [PST], you will still be allowed to vote regardless of the polling location’s closure time.
The first results will include mail ballots received before Election Day, and early voting in-person results.
Election Day in-person results will be included in subsequent data uploads as counties tabulate and send them to the Secretary of State’s Office.
November 9 | The deadline for county election officials to accept mail ballots postmarked on or before Election Day.
November 12 | The deadline for voters to cure their ballots.
November 15 | Canvass of the general election returns by each county board of commissioners/supervisors.
November 26 | Canvass of the general election returns by the Nevada Supreme Court.
December 17 | The Electoral College meets.
One of the issues is the signature “curing” of ballots required by Nevada law. If questions arise about a signature on a ballot, election officials must contact the voter to verify their identity. This is a time-consuming process that can take days.
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While Nevada, unfortunately, did not result in a pick-up for the GOP, the closeness of the race there and the (as yet, not called) race in Pennsylvania between Democrat incumbent Bob Casey Jr. and Republican challenger Dave McCormick are encouraging and hint at positive opportunities for the GOP going forward.
