(JTA) — Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Jewish Democrat, clinched reelection in a tight race over the weekend, bucking the state’s swing toward Donald Trump in the presidential vote and curbing Republican gains in the Senate.
Rosen’s win over former military officer Sam Brown was one of the final Senate races to be called after Tuesday’s election, in which Republicans flipped enough seats to win control of the chamber. She was also the second Jewish Democrat to narrowly prevail in a swing state that went for Trump after Michigan Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s Senate race was called in her favor last week.
A former synagogue president, Rosen was hand-picked by the late Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid to run for Congress in 2016. Less than two years later, again urged on by Reid, she won her first Senate term. (She likes to say it was harder leading a synagogue than working in national politics.)
With 96% of the vote counted as of Monday morning, Rosen led Brown by more than 21,000 votes, or 1.6 percentage points, according to the Associated Press. Her win gives Democrats 46 seats. The race in Arizona has yet to be called, and while the Associated Press has called Pennsylvania’s Senate race for the Republican candidate, the Democratic incumbent has yet to concede.
Bipartisan efforts and leadership
Rosen stressed her bipartisan record in her victory speech, stating, “No matter how anyone cast their vote this election, I represent all Nevadans, and I’ve shown that in my work.”
Rosen has become a leading figure in combating antisemitism on Capitol Hill, setting up a Senate task force on the issue with Oklahoma Republican Sen. James Lankford. She is a lead cosponsor of the Countering Antisemitism Act, which would create a coordinator to combat antisemitism domestically. Last year, she faced death threats in the wake of the launch of the Israel-Hamas war.
She has also earned a derisive nickname from Trump: “Wacky Jacky.”