The Republican primary for Senate in Nevada is getting messy just days before former President Donald Trump is set to visit the state. The main contenders are Sam Brown, a former military officer, and Jeffrey Gunter, a former U.S. ambassador to Iceland.
While Brown had been seen as the front-runner after narrowly losing the Senate primary in 2022, Gunter’s recent momentum could shake things up. Unfortunately, Gunter is a crackpot whose nomination would likely sacrifice the GOP’s viability in the race.
During his time as the ambassador to Iceland, Gunter was described as “paranoid” by top diplomats, wanted the State Department to request special permission from the Icelandic government so that he could carry a gun, and discussed wearing a stab-proof vest. The embassy eventually hired some bodyguards, but it was only to calm his “irrational” behavior.
Gunter also created an unsafe work environment and even accused employees of working for the “deep state.” In his first year in the position, the embassy rotated between seven deputy chiefs of mission, who typically serve in the position for a long period of time. This is because Gunter “didn’t like the look” of the first person who was intended to take the role and the “intimidating environment” he created dissuaded others from staying in the position.
The State Department even generated a report that highlighted Gunter’s “frequent failure to respect diplomatic protocol or to coordinate with the Icelandic Government on policy initiatives and press statements touching on sensitive defense-related subjects.”
Moreover, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Gunter tried to perform his duties remotely from California. After numerous pleadings from the State Department, it took a phone call from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to finally convince Gunter to return to his post. Gunter’s campaign has also been criticized for running attack ads that emphasize Brown’s scars, which the veteran received from an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan.
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While Brown has already been endorsed by the National Republican Senatorial Committee, Trump has remained quiet on the race. The choice between these two candidates should be easy, but allegations of “disloyalty” from Brown have made the former president wary. While Brown endorsed Trump before the Iowa primary, he is not seen as a “strong America First fighter” by some Trump insiders. However, another source told Fox News that Trump “thinks Gunter is a weirdo.”
Gunter is, in fact, “a weirdo” who deserves to be nowhere near Capitol Hill. He could not handle the mostly ceremonial ambassadorship to one of the smallest countries on the planet, yet he is trying to become a senator for a state he only recently moved to. Republicans in Nevada should choose Sam Brown.