Nevada Republican wants to ride Big Oil’s money to the Senate

Sam Brown, Nevada’s Republican candidate for Senate, has positioned himself as a relatable “small-town” candidate with salt-of-the-earth values while he challenges Democratic incumbent Jacky Rosen for her swing seat. However, not only do his family ties complicate that image, but also recent reports by the Federal Election Commission reveal that Brown has raked in money from both the oil and gas industry and its wealthy tycoons since his political inception. He also exhibits a questionable track record of political spending, with three complaints filed with the FEC against him for misappropriating funds by a super PAC affiliated with him.

Recent reports from the FEC shed light on Brown's financial ties to the oil industry. Since 2021, he has accepted over $215,000 in contributions from the oil and gas industry, either from its companies, employees, PACs, affiliated organizations, or lobbyists, according to a Daily Kos analysis of FEC data . This year, donors even include PACs tied to Koch Industries and Halliburton .



These financial ties could be why Brown has come out against developing solar and wind farms in the state. And his political history shows a consistent pattern of alignment with the oil and gas industry’s agenda. In 2014, when he was running for office in Texas, Brown appears to have received a significant $10,000 campaign contribution from oil tycoon T.

Boone Pickens, a major player in Texas politics. Note: FEC data includes limited information for identifying donors, which means it can be hard to determine for certain whether and how a specific person donated, though donating in another person’s name is illegal . Brown treats the existential threat of climate change as a nonissue, something worthy of ignoring .

He has openly opposed the Inflation Reduction Act, which is expected to help create over 24,000 clean energy jobs in Nevada. He has also advocated for the reopening of Yucca Mountain as a nuclear waste dumping site, and voiced his opposition to solar and wind energy development. “Our family’s like a very avid outdoors family,” he said in a recent 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 concerns about preserving Nevada’s landscape from genuine environmental preservation, or are they a cover for the oil and gas industry’s interests? Adding to the controversy around Brown is a recent FEC complaint filed by the campaign finance watchdog End Citizens United.

The complaint alleges that Duty First Nevada PAC, which is affiliated with Brown, illegally coordinated with his Senate campaign in the production of a campaign video. This marks End Citizens United’s third FEC complaint against the Republican candidate this cycle, drawing attention to the ethical implications of his campaign financing practices and raising further doubts about his transparency as a candidate. “I wasn’t born into power.

I’m from small-town America,” Brown said in an ad for his previous failed Senate bid, in 2022. But a closer look at his family history tells a different story. His extended family owns the Cincinnati Bengals, an NFL team valued at around $4 billion in 2023.

As Daily Kos reported in September, this has provided a financial boost to Brown’s political ambitions, with relatives appearing to donate thousands to his various political campaigns. This wealthy lineage underscores the dissonance between Brown’s self-portrayal as a man of the people and the reality of his affluent family ties. Let's get to work electing Kamala Harris our next president! Sign up for as many shifts as you can between now and Nov.

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