Sam Brown on Nevada abortion ballot measure: ‘I’m not for changing our existing law’
Nevada Senate GOP candidate Sam Brown said last month that he was “not for changing our existing law” when asked about his position on an upcoming abortion ballot measure, according to new audio published by The Nevada Independent.
The Nevada Independent published audio of Brown, who was asked during an Aug. 28 Las Vegas campaign event about his thoughts on a measure that will go before voters this fall, which would enshrine abortion protections in the state constitution.
“I’m not for changing our existing law. Our existing law has been in place for over 34 years. The ballot measure would change the law and essentially [create] no limit on access to abortion,” the retired Army captain said, according to the news outlet.
Brown’s campaign declined to comment to The Hill on Brown’s remarks.
Brown’s remarks are notable given he has largely evaded saying how he would vote on the abortion ballot measure. Like other Senate Republican candidates, Brown has been forced to navigate tricky terrain over the issue of abortion and his previous stances on it.
He previously served as chair for the Nevada Faith & Freedom Coalition, which is against abortion, but his campaign has maintained that his involvement pertained to other issues.
When Brown ran for the Texas state Legislature in 2014, he supported the state’s then-20 week abortion limit. Running for Senate this year, Brown has said that he and his wife are “pro-life” and back exceptions for the life of the mother, rape and incest.
Brown and his wife also sat down for an interview with NBC News earlier this year, where his wife recounted that she had had an abortion when she was younger.
Johanna Warshaw, spokesperson for Sen. Jacky Rosen’s (D-Nev.) campaign, criticized the GOP candidate, calling him a “dishonest politician and anti-abortion MAGA extremist” in a statement.
“Sam Brown is desperate to cover up his decade-long anti-abortion record and hide where he actually stands on Nevadans’ reproductive rights — except behind closed doors when he thinks no one will find out,” Warshaw said.
“Brown’s opposition to this commonsense measure permanently protecting abortion rights in Nevada is the latest proof that he’s a dishonest politician and anti-abortion MAGA extremist who we can’t trust in the Senate.”
A ballot measure that would amend the state constitution to “to create an individual’s fundamental right to an abortion” qualified for Nevada’s fall ballot in July. Patients can already receive an abortion in the state up until 24 weeks of pregnancy, with limited exceptions afterward. Those protections were passed during a voter referendum in 1990; this abortion ballot measure entails changing the state constitution.
Even if the measure passes this fall, it needs to pass again once more in 2026.
Like former President Trump, Brown has said this cycle that states should determine abortion access. Brown wrote an op-ed in June outlining his opposition on a national abortion ban.
2024 Election Coverage
“We also respect the decision of Nevada voters who have chosen to enshrine legal protections for abortion. These protections have been in place for over three decades. And, contrary to what Jacky Rosen claims, no politician can single-handedly overturn these protections,” he wrote in the Las Vegas Sun.
“The people of Nevada have made their choice, and I will stand by it. That’s what a true representative of the people does,” he said.
Nevada is among a handful of critical swing states that will determine the race for the White House and control of the Senate. The nonpartisan election handicapper Cook Political Report rates Rosen’s seat “lean Democrat.”
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed..
