Nevada’s Competing Republican Presidential Contests: Trump’s Expected Victory in the Caucus after Haley’s Loss in the Primary

Nevada, a key general election battleground state, recently held two competing Republican presidential contests: a primary and a caucus. The former President Donald Trump, who was not on the primary ballot, is expected to win the caucus, while Nikki Haley, his last remaining major rival for the Republican nomination, lost the primary to a “none of these candidates” option.

The confusion over having two competing contests dates back to 2021 when Democrats, who at the time controlled both Nevada’s governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a twist, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and some of the other now-departed Republican presidential candidates viewed the Nevada GOP as too loyal to Trump and decided to skip a caucus they believed was tipped in favor of the former president. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been working to get the message out to supporters in Nevada that if they want to vote for the former president, they need to show up at the caucuses. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is supporting Trump, told the Nevada Independent last month that he would vote for “none of these candidates” in the primary and caucus for Trump in the state GOP’s contest on Thursday.

While her name was on the ballot, Haley ignored the Nevada primary. She didn’t campaign in Nevada ahead of the primary and hasn’t been in the state since speaking in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. “In terms of Nevada, we have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada,” Ankney emphasized. “So Nevada is not and has never been our focus.”

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, the former president took to his Truth Social network to take aim at Haley. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected back in Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

This week’s contests are just an appetizer for Nevada, which as a key general election battleground state will see plenty of campaign traffic this summer and autumn. Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews, and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.

Paul Steinhauser is a politics reporter based in New Hampshire.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an unusual situation, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and other departed Republican presidential candidates perceived the Nevada GOP as being too loyal to Trump and decided to skip the caucus, which they believed was rigged in his favor. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been actively encouraging supporters in Nevada to attend the caucuses to vote for him. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is backing Trump, also voted for “none of these candidates” in the primary and plans to caucus for Trump on Thursday.

Haley, whose name was on the primary ballot, chose to ignore Nevada and did not campaign in the state ahead of the primary. She last appeared in Nevada in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, emphasized that Nevada was never their focus.

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley’s performance in the primary. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an intriguing scenario, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and other departed Republican presidential candidates perceived the Nevada GOP as being too loyal to Trump and decided to skip the caucus, which they believed was rigged in his favor. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been actively encouraging supporters in Nevada to attend the caucuses to vote for him. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is backing Trump, also voted for “none of these candidates” in the primary and plans to caucus for Trump on Thursday.

Haley, whose name was on the primary ballot, chose to ignore Nevada and did not campaign in the state ahead of the primary. She last appeared in Nevada in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, emphasized that Nevada was never their focus.

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley’s performance in the primary. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an intriguing scenario, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and other departed Republican presidential candidates perceived the Nevada GOP as being too loyal to Trump and decided to skip the caucus, which they believed was rigged in his favor. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been actively encouraging supporters in Nevada to attend the caucuses to vote for him. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is backing Trump, also voted for “none of these candidates” in the primary and plans to caucus for Trump on Thursday.

Haley, whose name was on the primary ballot, chose to ignore Nevada and did not campaign in the state ahead of the primary. She last appeared in Nevada in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, emphasized that Nevada was never their focus.

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley’s performance in the primary. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an intriguing scenario, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and other departed Republican presidential candidates perceived the Nevada GOP as being too loyal to Trump and decided to skip the caucus, which they believed was rigged in his favor. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been actively encouraging supporters in Nevada to attend the caucuses to vote for him. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is backing Trump, also voted for “none of these candidates” in the primary and plans to caucus for Trump on Thursday.

Haley, whose name was on the primary ballot, chose to ignore Nevada and did not campaign in the state ahead of the primary. She last appeared in Nevada in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, emphasized that Nevada was never their focus.

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley’s performance in the primary. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an intriguing scenario, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all 26 were up for grabs in the GOP caucus.

The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses. Haley and other departed Republican presidential candidates perceived the Nevada GOP as being too loyal to Trump and decided to skip the caucus, which they believed was rigged in his favor. Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.

Trump’s campaign has been actively encouraging supporters in Nevada to attend the caucuses to vote for him. “Your primary vote doesn’t mean anything. It’s your caucus vote,” Trump said at a rally in Las Vegas late last month. Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who is backing Trump, also voted for “none of these candidates” in the primary and plans to caucus for Trump on Thursday.

Haley, whose name was on the primary ballot, chose to ignore Nevada and did not campaign in the state ahead of the primary. She last appeared in Nevada in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference. Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, emphasized that Nevada was never their focus.

As the vote count continued on Tuesday night, Trump took to his Truth Social network to criticize Haley’s performance in the primary. “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued. Trump is expected to return to Las Vegas on Thursday for a caucus celebration.

The Nevada Republican presidential primary and caucus of 2024 presented an intriguing scenario, with two separate contests taking place in the same state. The primary, which was a state-run event, saw former President Donald Trump absent from the ballot, while the caucus, organized by the Nevada GOP, listed his name. Nikki Haley, Trump’s last major rival for the Republican nomination, participated in the primary but lost to a “none of these candidates” option, which received a wide margin of votes.

The origins of this situation can be traced back to 2021 when Democrats, who controlled both the Nevada governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary. The Nevada GOP objected to this change, but their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a surprising turn of events, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses. No delegates were at stake in the Republican primary, while all