Election denier Jim Marchant announces Senate bid against Jacky Rosen

Republican Jim Marchant, a vocal election denier who lost his race to be Nevada’s top election official in 2022, is running for Senate against incumbent Democrat Sen. Jacky Rosen.

Marchant was one of many 2020 Republican candidates for secretary of state who promoted unfounded claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election. He was part of Nevada’s alternate slate of false, pro-Trump electors who challenged results of the election. Marchant has said he wouldn’t have certified President Joe Biden’s victory.

He announced his Senate bid Tuesday night at Fervent Church in Las Vegas. The church’s pastor fought Nevada’s COVID lockdowns in 2020. Marchant was introduced by longtime political strategist Dick Morris, who will be running Marchant’s campaign as a general consultant.

“I am running for United States Senate to protect Nevadans from overbearing government, from Silicon Valley, from big media, from labor unions, from radical gender exchange advocates, where Jacky Rosen has failed you,” Marchant said.

He claimed American liberties are under siege because of illegal immigrants and leftist policies. And he said freedom of speech and the right to bear arms are being taken away by the government and powerful corporations.

“The left is eliminating the right to bear arms and self-defense,” Marchant said. “I have a message for the leftists: Don’t take away our guns if you’re going to stop the police from using theirs.”

Marchant previously served one term as a Nevada state assemblyman. He ran for Congress in 2020 and lost to Democrat Steve Horsford.

Rosen tweeted her response to Marchant’s candidacy: “Nevadans deserve a Senator who will fight for them, not a MAGA election denier who opposes abortion rights even in cases of rape and incest. While far-right politicians like Jim Marchant spread baseless conspiracy theories, I’ve always focused on solving problems for Nevadans.” 

The Nevada Senate race could be close — in 2022, incumbent Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto defeated Republican Adam Laxalt by less than 8,000 votes.