Former United States President Donald Trump is on course to win the Nevada Republican caucus with an overwhelming majority as he has no serious challengers in the race.
This comes as the Republican businessman also recently won against former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the U.S. Virgin Islands caucus. However, the two did not face off in the Nevada caucus.
This was due to Haley opting not to participate in the caucus and instead was listed in the Nevada primary, where she lost to the "none of these candidates" option. The Thursday caucus comes after the former president already saw sweeping victories in two crucial early primary states, Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump's victory in the Nevada Republican caucus was not surprising as his supporters in the state organized the caucuses. This is despite a new state law that requires the parties to hold presidential primaries.
Nevada's GOP responded to the issue by holding a non-binding primary and keeping its caucuses. This was a benefit to the former president, given his support among the state's Republican leadership, as per USA Today.
Many Trump Republicans used the Tuesday primary to cast ballots for "none of these candidates" to flex their influence. This was a category that carried more than 63% of the vote, which equated to roughly 200,000 people, compared to Haley who got just over 30%.
On Thursday, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) said that Trump can win a Republican caucus in Nevada. However, it vowed that he would lose the Silver State in the general election later this year, similar to what has happened twice before.
In a statement, DNC Rapid Response Director Alex Floyd said that nobody knows how to lose in Nevada like Trump. He argued that the former president's back-to-back losses in the Silver State in 2016 and 2020 made him the first Republican in decades to lose the state twice.
Donald Trump's Victories
For the past four presidential elections, Democrats have won Nevada but in 2022, Republican Joe Lombardo was elected as governor. He has already endorsed Trump for president ahead of the general election, according to CNBC.
The Nevada Republican Party will award 26 delegates proportionally based on the results of the caucuses on Thursday. The former president's victory in the small, in-person voting events was all but assured.
The only other candidate on the ballot was Ryan Binkley, who is a pastor and a long-shot presidential hopeful. Besty Ankney, Haley's campaign manager, downplayed the importance of this week's Nevada contests.
She said that they did not spend a dime nor an ounce of energy on the Silver State, adding that they did not even count it. Due to the unusual nature of the dueling contests, it was possible for voters to be confused.
Furthermore, Trump's campaign feared that the former president could underperform against expectations because of the situation. The next race where Haley could challenge Trump's influence is in the South Carolina primary that is scheduled to be held on Feb. 24, 2024, said Axios.
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