What Adam Laxalt’s US primary win means for Republicans

Adam Laxalt has won the Republican party’s nomination for the US Senate seat of Nevada that is up for grabs in the upcoming midterm elections. Laxalt’s win in the primary elections can open legislative gateways for the GOP that had been kept locked by Democrats since early 2021.

Laxalt, a former Nevada attorney general, had to put up a hard fight against challenger Sam Brown, who ended up getting more than 40,000 votes on Tuesday. Laxalt, 43, received over 61,000 votes to win the primary elections.

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With his nomination now secure, Laxalt turns to a general election campaign against Cortez Masto in what is expected to be one of the Republican Party’s best chances to flip a seat in the 50-50 Senate this fall.

Nevada, a fiercely competitive state that can swing in any direction, will pick their Senator in the November elections. The race between Laxalt and Masto can potentially decide the fate of the Republican party for the next two years.

If Laxalt wins, the GOP is likely to secure a 51-49 majority in the US Senate. This would then become the obstacle in the Democratic party’s path to getting laws approved. The current 50-50 split in the Senate forces Vice President Kamala Harris to step in for a decider vote.

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Laxalt worked on Trump’s reelection campaign and promoted his lies about election fraud in the state after the 2020 election. Trump in turn hosted Laxalt for a fundraiser at his Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida, and appeared in a campaign ad for Laxalt.

Laxalt is well-known in the state for having served for four years as Nevada’s attorney general and campaigned unsuccessfully for governor in 2018. He is also the grandson of former US Senator Paul Laxalt.