Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley committed to pursuing her presidential campaign in the wake of her devastating Nevada primary loss, where she failed to come out on top against "none of these candidates."
The Republican presidential hopeful also made a scathing claim, saying that the caucus was "rigged" for former United States President Donald Trump. Haley is now setting her eyes on the next major contest in the GOP nominating calendar, the South Carolina primary as well as on Super Tuesday in early March.
The GOP made her comments on Wednesday, a day after her brutal loss in the Nevada primary. On the other hand, Trump, the frontrunner in the GOP nomination race, was not on the ballot in the Tuesday primary.
Voters who cast ballots in the state-run Republican nominating contest could not write in Trump's name but had the option to opt for a "none of these candidates" option. Supporters of the former president at the polling station in Las Vegas during the primary said that they were casting a ballot for that option, as per Fox News.
While the former South Carolina governor's name was on the ballot, she ignored the Nevada primary altogether. She did not campaign in the state ahead of the race and has not been in the state since she spoke in late October last year at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual leadership conference.
On Monday, Haley's campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, said that in terms of Nevada, they did not spend a dime nor an ounce of energy on the primary. She said that the state is not and never has been their focus.
Haley spoke on Wednesday during a stop in Southern California where she emphasized that months ago, they already knew that they would not spend a day or a dollar in Nevada. She said that it was not worth it and they did not even count the state.
On the other hand, Trump is closing in on the Republican Party's presidential nomination and the fact there are two contests is a result of a dispute between the GOP and Democrats in the state legislature, according to BBC.
Results of the Nevada Primary
In 2021, the legislature passed a law to switch from caucus to primary after voting delays that occurred in 2020. A caucus is a vote that requires people to attend in person at a specific time whereas a primary is held in the usual way at a polling station over a number of hours and through early voting.
All of these factors mean that the results of the Nevada primary on Tuesday were meaningless in the Republican race. In a post on social media, Trump joked about the situation, saying, "Watch, she'll soon claim Victory!"
Republican Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo previously announced that he would vote for "none of these candidates" in the Tuesday primary. Washoe County Republican Party Chair Bruce Parks reportedly told voters to select the none option over Haley.
During an interview, he said that it was due to Haley's team basically telling them that they did not care about them. He noted that selecting "none of these candidates" was in retaliation for that, said the Associated Press.
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