Nevada Sen. Rosen: Social security, Obamacare at stake in 2024 election

With five days out from Election Day, Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said Nevada’s nickname as the “Battle Born State” is more than just a moniker — it’s a reflection of the state’s consistently tight elections.

“We’re not just the Battle Born State, we’re the battleground state. Races are always tight, races are always tough.” Rosen said. “We know the race is tightening up here, but Nevadans have a choice.”

That choice, Rosen said Wednesday standing in front of a small garage of a “super supporter” on a residential street corner in Las Vegas, is between protecting social security and ending it. Rosen took to the small house in central Las Vegas for a press conference to give remarks on social security protections, lambast her Republican opponent Sam Brown and accept two nominations from organizations representing senior interests.

The garage and the home attached to it belong to Donna West, chair of the Senior Democratic Caucus in Nevada, who spoke during the press conference about why her support for the senator’s reelection bid runs so deep.

“I deserve to retire with dignity, not with fear, and Sam Brown makes me afraid that he would slash my benefits,” West said.

Brown’s official campaign stance on health care claims the Affordable Care Act, colloquially known as Obamacare, “flood(s) the marketplace with regulations” and drives up costs of medical care but does not list specifically he would repeal the act.

Rosen and others linked a 2022 comment from Brown praising Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who proposed an automatic five-year sunsetting of federal programs like social security if Congress did not explicitly vote to continue them. After public pushback about concerns of losing social security, Scott clarified his plan was not intended to dissolve social security in any way.

Brown’s campaign also clarified to the Sun the candidate explicitly is against dissolving social security, citing that Brown himself was at one point on Medicare after he retired from the military. Rosen claimed during the event Brown’s campaign promises are not to be trusted on both social security and abortion, calling the retired army captain a “right-wing rubber stamp.”

“And so I think on your third run, he’s a failed politician already, he’ll say or do anything to cover up,” Rosen said.

The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare and Nevada Alliance for Retired Americans both sent representatives to the press conference to announce their endorsement of Rosen. The Alliance has over 19,000 members in the state, and representatives from both organizations stated the senator has a 100% in-favor voting record on legislation the group.

“Every senior has worked a lifetime in order to earn these benefits. They have paid in — these are earned benefits, they’re not a gift,” Rosen said.

Beyond protecting current acts already passed by the Legislature, Rosen said if reelected, she wants to focus more on bolstering Nevada’s medical field, specifically training in-state talent to help bolster gaps in coverage. All 17 of Nevada’s counties have “some type” of medical professional shortage designation, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Nevada Division of Public and Behavioral Health website.

“I’ve been working with our community colleges particularly to train folks in their community to stay there,” Rosen said. “How do you train someone who can maybe take your blood, give you the EKG, so their clinics can be fully staffed with Nevadans?”

Early voting ends Friday and Election Day is Tuesday, Nov. 5.