Nevada U.S. Senate candidates have differing views on inflation, the economy

Polling nationwide indicates that elevated inflation and the U.S. economy are right up there with the border crisis and immigration policies as the top issues on voters' minds heading into the November elections.

The Center Square Voters Voice Poll in March 2024 of more than 2,500 likely voters identified inflation/price increases (named by 45% of respondents as a top three issue), illegal immigration (44%) and the economy/jobs (24%) as being at the top of voters' minds.

Nevada’s U.S. Senate candidates – Democratic incumbent U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen and Republican challenger Sam Brown – have differing views on how to improve the economy and reduce costs.

Rosen wants to alleviate costs for groceries and other staples for middle class families through further regulations on businesses.

According to her campaign website, she wants to “prevent grocery prices from increasing further” and “supports cutting taxes to the middle class.”

In a letter to President Joe Biden, Rosen expressed her opposition to grocery store monopolies and the price pressures that could result from them.

“With market consolidation and decreased competition, corporations are able to engage in price manipulation like 'shrinkflation'; charging families more for less. I’ve raised significant concerns about the impact such mergers could have on grocery costs in Nevada, including urging the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to block the Kroger-Albertsons grocery store mega merger because it could lead to higher prices.”

Rosen also supported the $437 billion Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which created tens of thousands of new jobs as part of a larger taxpayer-funded investment in clean energy.

Rosen’s campaign did not respond to The Center Square’s request for comment.

Brown has attributed inflation to high government spending. In a May 2022 primary debate, he called to eliminate the Department of Energy, Transportation, and Education. Those eliminations would be part of a larger strategy to eliminate “duplicate” agencies at the state and federal level. he said.

In a statement to The Center Square, Brown’s campaign wrote:

"Taxpayers know the federal government has a terrible track record of exorbitant spending and poorly allocating resources. It's why, through the failed leadership of Jacky Rosen and Joe Biden, the country is $34 trillion in debt and the cost of living is at an all-time high. As a small business owner, I look at all budgets with an eye toward cost savings and raising revenue. Nevada deserves a leader who takes every opportunity to give the taxpayer relief where it is prudent and stands up to bloated bureaucracy. An easy place to start is trimming the excessive waste within federal departments."

In a May 2022 debate, Brown called for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by “2.5 points or more” to combat high inflation. Inflation reached 8.6% in May 2022. From March 2022 to July 2023, the Federal Funds rate rose five points. In June 2024, the inflation rate fell to 3.3%. The Fed aims for an inflation rate of 2%.

In an interview with The Washington Examiner, Brown said decreasing taxes will help the economy overall.

“I subscribe to the sort of tax and economics philosophy that raising taxes, while it does in theory and in practice sometimes produce more revenue, the best way to increase revenue for the government is actually by lowering taxes, lowering regulations, allowing the economy to boom.”