A Potential Abortion Rights Referendum Could Define The Nevada Senate Race

In 2022, Nevada was home to the closest Senate race in the country. 

Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, for most of the election cycle, was seen as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent. 

But then Roe v. Wade was overturned, giving her campaign new energy and she ended up defeating former state Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who led most polls into the homestretch. 

Now, in 2024, Nevada’s other Senate seat is on the ballot, first-term Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen is running for reelection, and abortion is poised to be a potentially pivotal issue once again in the Battle Born State. 

Nevada has become one of the quintessential battleground states in the nation. And while Democrats have had plenty of success over the past few election cycles in the state, Republicans have made inroads in populous Clark County, which has 72% of the state’s population. 

Democrats continue to feel the issue of abortion gives them an edge. Not only will Rosen be making abortion access central to her campaign, but a potential ballot initiative seeking to enshrine abortion rights into the state constitution could give her additional momentum. 

Under current Nevada law, anybody can receive an abortion through the first 24 weeks of pregnancy. In 1990, Nevada voters approved protections covered by Roe v. Wade — but those protections aren’t codified in the state’s constitution. 

Lindsey Harmon, the executive director of Planned Parenthood Nevada, told The Messenger that there is currently a legal challenge to granting ballot access to a referendum that would enshrine those protections in the state constitution. But presuming organizers clear that hurdle, Harmon, one of the leaders of the effort, is confident that they will “blow the signature requirements out of the water.” The coalition backing the effort would need to obtain 103,000 signatures to get on the ballot for 2024. The ballot would automatically make the ballot again in 2026 to be enshrined into the state’s constitution.  

 “I think overwhelmingly, nationally, we know abortion access polls incredibly high,” Harmon said in an interview. “So we know voters are with us. And this is particularly true in a state like Nevada, where we do have this strong history of protecting reproductive rights, as well as just knowing that folks here want those relationships to remain between a patient and their provider.” 

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, audio surfaced of Laxalt calling Roe v. Wade a “joke” and a “total, complete invention” at a pancake breakfast while bemoaning that Nevada was not a “pro-life” state. Those comments were quickly turned into advertisements that blanketed the airwaves and proved to be an effective message. 

Zach Moyle, a GOP strategist in Nevada and a former executive director of the Nevada GOP, said abortion wasn’t even a top 10 issue before the Dobbs decision came down.  

“There’s no way that Masto wins last cycle without the abortion issue, and you can put a period at the end of that sentence,” he told The Messenger. “This cycle and even last cycle, the reality is the GOP’s messaging on that issue is terrible, not because of the issue itself. It’s terrible because Democrats have successfully taken that message and expanded it to a much larger universal message that really has nothing to do with abortion. It has everything to do with individual rights and civil liberties,” which used to be common GOP campaign themes, he noted. 

Another veteran GOP consultant in Nevada told The Messenger that Laxalt was already seen by the electorate as out of step on various issues, so voters did not give him the benefit of the doubt when it came to abortion. 

“I think as long as you don’t make it a centerpiece and you kind of say, look, this is a state’s issue. You people get to vote. You decide, not me,” they said. 

The National Republican Senatorial Committee has recruited Army veteran Sam Brown to run against Rosen. Brown, who was the runner-up to Laxalt in the 2022 primary, has said in previous interviews that he is “pro-life” but declined to say that he would support a national abortion ban. 

Other GOP candidates, like Jeffrey Ross Gunter, the former U.S. Ambassador to Iceland, said that abortion should be an issue left to the states and said he would leave the issue to the voters of Nevada. Another potential GOP nominee, former Secretary of State candidate Jim Marchant, has backed abortion bans. 

“The NRSC is encouraging Republicans to clearly state their opposition to a national abortion ban and their support for reasonable limits on late-term abortions when babies can feel pain with exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother,” said a source familiar with the NRSC’s strategy. “They are encouraging candidates to contrast that position with Democrats’ support for taxpayer-funded abortion without limits.” 

In a statement to The Messenger, Brown says his personal view on abortion was largely shaped by his experience in Afghanistan, where he nearly lost his life after he was severely injured by a roadside bomb, but was blessed with a second chance at living. 

“I’m pro-life, with exceptions for the tragic cases of rape, incest, and situations where the mother’s life is at risk. On this issue, Nevada voters have spoken and elected leaders should respect the decision of the people,” Brown said. “My views are within the mainstream of Nevada voters, but Jacky Rosen has voted for some of the most extreme abortion policies in the country, including taxpayer-funded abortions, abortions without parental notification, and even abortions up until the ninth month of pregnancy."

However, like many GOP candidates before Roe v. Wade was overturned, Brown has a history of making anti-abortion statements that could haunt him. 

In his 2014 Texas House campaign, Brown endorsed an abortion law in Texas that banned abortion after 20 weeks. He sent fundraising emails asking if his prospective donors support Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville "in his fight to stop military-funded abortion trips." Tuberville has held up various military promotions over abortion policy over the past months. He was named chairman of the Nevada chapter of the Faith and Freedom Coalition, a group that opposes abortion. 

In previously unreported tracking footage from a 2022 campaign event, Brown said that he would not vote to confirm any judges that support Roe v. Wade. 

“I would not vote to confirm someone who continues to support Roe v. Wade,” Brown said. “We’ve got to do everything we can to support the sanctity of life.” 

And in a debate against Laxalt in 2022, Brown left the door open to potentially voting for a national abortion ban. 

“This is something as it stands that would be currently left to the states,” he said. “But once again, I am pro-life, and if there were any sort of legislation that would come forward I’d want to see that specific language.” 

“I imagine that every candidate will be talking about [abortion] from the top of the ticket all the way down to the assembly,” Harmon said. “Because we know how much power the legislators now have in this moment. So we are absolutely going to hold candidates for Senate accountable to this, knowing that there is always the prospect of a national abortion ban looming in the background.”

Although Brown says that he will leave the issue of abortion to the states, Democrats aren't buying it.

"Sam Brown can try to hide his extreme anti-choice views all he wants, but the evidence just keeps piling up that Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate in Nevada is a MAGA extremist who would attack women’s rights and vote to ban abortion nationwide," said Nevada State Democratic Party spokesperson Johanna Warshaw.

Editor's Note: A previous version of this article said that Brown supported Tuberville's military promotion blockade, but he was asking prospective donors if they support Tuberville's blockade. The article has been updated to reflect the change.