Nevada Senate opponents paint each other as extremists in debate lacking fireworks

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada Democratic U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen and Republican challenger Sam Brown painted each other as extremists, but fireworks were few during their only face-to-face debate in a presidential battleground state where the Nov. 5 election could determine control of both the White House and the Senate.

The election pits Rosen, a first-term senator seen as a political consensus-builder, against Brown, a retired Army captain who bears scars from battlefield injuries and is endorsed by former President Donald Trump.

Brown repeatedly aligned himself with Trump on domestic and foreign policy while calling Rosen a political insider and “elitist,” singling out her stands on immigration reform.

“This is again what you would expect out of an elitist from D.C. whose own neighborhood has more security than our border with a gate and security guards,” Brown said during the live televised debate.

Rosen said she is proud of her record in Washington and defended her support for President Joe Biden's policies intended to ease inflation and make housing more affordable, as well as her efforts to work across the aisle with Republicans.

“My opponent is so stubborn and so extreme he often uses the words 'not negotiable' and 'no middle ground,'” Rosen said. “I am proud to be one of the most bipartisan, effective and independent senators."

The hourlong appearance hosted by KLAS-TV in Las Vegas was aired live in both English and Spanish. Abortion, inflation and immigration are among the leading issues and voters have been inundated with ads for both candidates.

In answer to questions about the Middle East, both said Thursday night they opposed the president’s threat to suspend aid to Israel if Israel does not allow more humanitarian aid to reach Gaza within the next month.

“We do not need to be drawing red lines on what Israel can or cannot do or how we will support Israel,” Brown said.

Rosen said that while she does not support “the ultimatum," the U.S. must support Israel “in its fight against terror.” She said she does support “our responsibility to help those civilians who are suffering in Gaza, or to help limit civilian causalities. We can and must do both.”

Brown, who said he was “someone who has seen the horrors of war,” defended Trump’s foreign policy in general.

“I can be an ally of his in the Senate,” he said.

Brown, during a campaign rally last Friday in Reno, promised to secure the U.S. border; make housing more affordable; lower prices on food, fuel and medication; end taxes on tips; and eliminate taxes on Social Security benefits.

Rosen argues that her challenger is out of touch with Nevada residents, where nonpartisan and other voters make up nearly 40% of the statewide electorate of 2.4 million. Voting leans Republican in rural areas and Democratic in the two most populous and urban areas: Las Vegas and Reno.

Records show Rosen has a 3-1 edge in fundraising and spending and a lead in polls of voters. Several Republican elected officials have said they intend to break ranks with the GOP and vote for Rosen, including the mayors of Sparks, near Reno, and Ely in rural eastern Nevada.

Rosen has a hometown advantage in and around Las Vegas, where she has lived for more than 40 years. She was a computer programmer and president of a prominent synagogue in suburban Henderson before she was elected as a congresswoman in 2016 and defeated a GOP incumbent to move to the Senate in 2018.

Brown was badly wounded in 2008 while serving in Afghanistan and spent years recuperating before leaving the Army in 2011. He started a business helping veterans get medical care and ran unsuccessfully for a Texas statehouse seat in 2014 before moving to Nevada in 2018. He lost a GOP primary bid in 2022 to challenge Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto.

The two candidates clashed on abortion, a key issue in Nevada where voters face a ballot initiative aimed at enshrining in the state constitution a 1990 law that makes the procedure legal up to 24 weeks. Democrats across the nation have made abortion rights a central message since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, with new Trump appointees, overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision establishing a nationwide right to abortion.

Rosen accused Brown, who ran previously for elected office in Texas and Nevada, of having “a decade-long record of saying that he’s against any exceptions on abortion, even in the case of rape or incest.”

“I would not vote for a national abortion ban,” Brown said on the debate stage, before steering his answer to a description of his wife’s “very traumatic” experience having an abortion before the couple met. Brown and his wife Amy described the experience in an NBC News interview earlier this year.

“I also stand by Nevada’s law, that allows abortion up to 24 weeks,” Brown added.

Rosen accused Brown of changing his position to attract votes and said she expected that he would support a nationwide ban.

“I support restoring Roe v. Wade,” Rosen said, adding that she also supports the initiative aimed at making the right to an abortion up to week 24 of a pregnancy part of the state constitution.

“Women are dying,” Rosen declared. “Women are being turned away from emergency rooms or dying in hospitals. This is fundamentally about freedom.”

Brown has sought to blame Rosen for economic policies of the Biden administration, which Republicans say led to high inflation as the country recovered from the coronavirus pandemic.

Rosen released a new ad this week touting work to lower costs on prescription drugs, stop price gouging by grocery store chains and address housing costs.

Brown has tied himself closely to Trump, who contested his narrow presidential election loss to Biden in Nevada in 2020. The state's top election official, a Republican, was later censured by the state GOP for certifying that the ballot count was not marred by widespread fraud.

Early voting in Nevada begins Saturday.

Associated Press writer Scott Sonner contributed from Reno, Nevada.

Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown prepares before a debate with Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., prepares before a debate with Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown prepares before a debate with Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown stands in a tv studio before a debate with Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., stands in a tv studio before a debate with Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Republican senatorial candidate Sam Brown, left, and Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., shake hands before a debate, Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

NEW YORK (AP) — All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman was out of the Los Angeles Dodgers' starting lineup for Game 4 of the National League Championship Series against the New York Mets.

Freeman has been playing with a badly sprained and swollen right ankle throughout the postseason. He also missed Game 4 of the Division Series at San Diego with Los Angeles facing elimination.

Even without Freeman, the Dodgers rolled to a 10-2 victory over New York that gave them a 3-1 advantage in the best-of-seven series and moved them within one win of their 25th pennant — most in NL history.

“I feel really good. We’re just trying to manage it,” Freeman said after the game. “I’ll be out there tomorrow.”

Hours earlier, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said resting Freeman was “the right decision.”

“He’s obviously ailing and he’s doing everything he can to stay on the field. With the back-to-back games and one tomorrow, just trying to kind of make a decision what puts him in the best position for the games going forward,” Roberts explained Thursday evening.

“And just tonight seemed easy. Obviously he wants to be in there. But having him not make the start, run out there on and off the field, be ready for a big spot tonight, made a lot of sense.”

Roberts indicated he might deploy Freeman as a pinch hitter in an important situation, but that never became necessary. He said he called the slugger after Wednesday night's win to give him a heads up so he could take full advantage of knowing he would be getting a rest.

“He asked me if he was being benched. That’s one thing. He doesn’t offer up days off,” Roberts said, drawing a few chuckles from reporters.

“I know how much he’s going through to stay on the field. So I think that he understood that it’s for his best interests to kind of not start tonight’s game. But he took it like a professional.”

Freeman has been going through hours of pregame treatment every day just to get ready to play.

“I don’t think my respect could be any more for Freddie. To be quite frank, there is a lot that goes into it. But I don’t really care to know all the details,” Roberts said. “I just want to know if he’s in there or not, knowing that he’s in good hands with our training staff. But what it takes for him to get ready for a ballgame these days is a huge undertaking.”

Los Angeles held a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven NLCS going into Thursday night's game at Citi Field. With the Mets starting veteran left-hander Jose Quintana, the Dodgers moved Max Muncy from third base to first and Kiké Hernández from center field to third base.

Rookie outfielder Andy Pages, a right-handed batter, was set to start in center, hitting eighth. Pages also played center in Game 2 against left-hander Sean Manaea.

Teoscar Hernández moved up to Freeman's regular No. 3 spot in the order. Switch-hitting shortstop Tommy Edman batted cleanup for the third time in his career — all since Aug. 29 with the Dodgers.

Edman doubled twice and drove in three runs, giving him seven RBIs in the NLCS. He has a .726 career OPS and has never had more than 13 homers or 57 RBIs in any of his six major league seasons. But he's batting .324 this postseason and is 7 for 17 (.412) in the NLCS.

Chris Taylor was at second base, batting ninth, instead of Gavin Lux — a left-handed hitter who missed Game 2 because of a right hip flexor injury. Lux returned in Game 3 against right-hander Luis Severino and finished 0 for 4 with a strikeout, never getting the ball past the pitcher.

“I think it was a combo. He’s had some starts versus left-handed pitching. Quintana has been really tough on lefties, putting them on the ground, the strikeout rates and stuff like that. So that’s one part of it,” Roberts said about Lux. “Also with the leg, just kind of trying to give him an extra day to recover, but also have him available if need be late.”

The 35-year-old Freeman, a .300 career hitter in 15 major league seasons, sprained his ankle while running through first base against the Padres during the final week of the regular season. An eight-time All-Star and the 2020 NL MVP with Atlanta, he is 7 for 27 (.259) with one RBI and no extra-base hits during the NL playoffs.

“He’s in a lot of pain out there. You can see it when he’s running and all that. But he’s inspiring us as players, as a teammate. Willing to put his body on the line,” Dodgers catcher Will Smith said. “It’s impressive. It gets us going. We love when he’s in there. He’s been swinging it good for us. Unfortunately he’s not in there today, but I know he’s back in there tomorrow.”

New York also made a lineup change, starting Harrison Bader in center field over Tyrone Taylor.

Mets manager Carlos Mendoza explained that Bader had three “really good at-bats” against Game 4 Dodgers starter Yoshinobu Yamamoto back in April.

Taylor was hitting .138 (4 for 29) in the postseason with two doubles, three walks and eight strikeouts. He made a spectacular catch on the right-center warning track to limit Edman to a sacrifice fly early in Game 3.

“Taylor is a pretty good defender. Bader is an elite defender,” Mendoza said. “Again, just three at-bats, but I don’t think anybody had that much of a sample size against Yamamoto. We only faced him once. So I just decided to go with him.”

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Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, right, and Mookie Betts celebrate after they scored on a single by Max Muncy during the first inning in Game 1 of a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, right, and Mookie Betts celebrate after they scored on a single by Max Muncy during the first inning in Game 1 of a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman (5) reacts after a single as he stands next to San Diego Padres first baseman Luis Arraez during the first inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Division Series Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman flies out during the fourth inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman runs to first base as he singles during the first inning in Game 5 of a baseball NL Division Series against the San Diego Padres, Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, right, and Mookie Betts celebrate after they scored on a single by Max Muncy during the first inning in Game 1 of a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)

Los Angeles Dodgers' Freddie Freeman, left, and Mookie Betts celebrate after they scored on a single by Max Muncy during the first inning in Game 1 of a baseball NL Championship Series against the New York Mets, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)