Nevada holds competing presidential nomination contests – a primary with Haley and a caucus with Trump
Former President Donald Trump wasn’t on the ballot in Tuesday’s Republican presidential primary in the early-voting state of Nevada.
But his absence wasn’t enough to help secure a victory for his last remaining major rival for the 2024 GOP nomination – Nikki Haley.
Voters participating in the state-run Republican nominating contest were unable to write in Trump’s name, but they did have the option to vote for “none of these candidates.”
Related Article: Nikki Haley touts January’s fundraising haul ahead of Super Tuesday rally
The Associated Press projected that the “none of these candidates” option would prevail over Haley in the primary, where no delegates to the upcoming Republican convention were up for grabs. Trump supporters interviewed by Fox News at polling stations indicated that they were voting for “none of these candidates.”
Although her name appeared on the ballot, the former two-term South Carolina governor, who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration, disregarded the Nevada primary.
Haley did not campaign in Nevada before the primary and has not visited the state since her speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference in late October.
“On the subject of Nevada, we haven’t allocated any funds or effort towards Nevada,” stated Haley’s campaign manager Betsy Ankney to reporters on Monday. “So Nevada has never been our focus.”
As the vote count progressed, the former president turned to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley. “A tough night for Nikki Haley. Losing by nearly 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Mark my words, she’ll soon declare victory!” he argued.
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita pointed to Haley’s home state, which hosts the next significant contest in the GOP nominating calendar on February 24th.
“More embarrassment coming in South Carolina… the @NikkiHaley Delusional Tour continues,” LaCivita asserted in a social media post.
While Trump, the clear front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination as he pursues his third consecutive White House bid, was absent from the primary ballot, his name will appear on Thursday in a presidential caucus organized by the Nevada GOP.
The confusion surrounding the presence of two competing contests dates back to 2021, when Democrats, who then held both Nevada’s governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law transitioning the presidential nominating contest from traditional caucuses to a state-administered primary.
The Nevada GOP objected, but their legal attempt last year to halt the primary was dismissed. In a surprising turn, the judge in the case permitted the state Republicans to conduct their caucuses, where all 26 delegates will be contested.
The state GOP decreed that candidates who appeared on the state-run primary ballot were ineligible to participate in the caucuses.
Haley and several other now-departed Republican presidential candidates saw the Nevada GOP as too aligned with Trump and chose to forgo a caucus they felt was biased in favor of the former president.
Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s Republican National Committee members are backing Trump.
“We decided early on that we wouldn’t shell out $55,000 to a Trump entity just to take part in a process that was tilted in Trump’s favor,” Ankney asserted.
While GOP presidential candidates had to opt for either the caucus or primary ballot, registered Republicans in Nevada have the option to participate in both contests.
Trump’s campaign has been actively spreading the message to supporters in Nevada that if they intend to vote for the former president, they must attend the caucuses.
“At a rally in Las Vegas late last month, Trump stated, ‘Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote. So in your state, you have both the primary and you have a caucus. Don’t worry about the primary, just do the caucus thing.'”
Trump is anticipated to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.
This week’s contests are merely a precursor for Nevada, which, being a pivotal battleground state in the general election, will witness significant campaign activity throughout the summer and fall.