A recent report from Fox News dated Wednesday, February 7, 2024, it was revealed that the absence of former President Donald Trump from the Republican presidential primary in Nevada did not play out in favor of his primary contender, Nikki Haley, in the quest for the 2024 GOP nomination.
During the state-conducted Republican nominating process, voters were unable to write in Trump’s name but were presented with the option to vote for “none of these candidates.”
The Associated Press forecasted that the “none of these candidates” alternative would outstrip Haley in a primary where no delegates for the forthcoming Republican convention were on the line.
Trump supporters interviewed by Fox News at polling stations disclosed that they opted to cast their votes for “none of these candidates.”
While Haley’s name was listed on the primary ballot, the former two-term South Carolina governor and ex-U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration opted not to engage with the Nevada primary.
Haley refrained from campaigning in Nevada before the primary and has not visited the state since her address at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s yearly leadership conference in late October 2023.
Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, informed reporters that Nevada had never been their focal point, asserting, “In terms of Nevada, we have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada.”
Subsequent to the primary, former President Trump utilized his Truth Social network to criticize Haley, remarking, “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!”
Chris LaCivita, senior adviser to the Trump campaign, also shifted focus to Haley’s home state of South Carolina, which holds the subsequent major contest on the GOP nominating calendar on February 24. LaCivita remarked on social media, “More embarrassment coming in South Carolina… the @NikkiHaley Delusional Tour continues.”
Despite Trump’s name not appearing on the primary ballot, he will be featured in a presidential caucus organized by the Nevada GOP on Thursday, February 8, 2024.
The confusion surrounding the presence of two competing contests traces back to 2021 when Democrats, who then held Nevada’s governor’s office and legislature, enacted a law altering the presidential nominating contest from longstanding caucuses to a state-run primary.
Initially, the Nevada GOP opposed the change, but their legal endeavor to halt the primary was dismissed last year.
However, the presiding judge permitted the state Republicans to conduct their caucuses, where all 26 delegates will be up for grabs.
The state GOP resolved that candidates listed on the state-run primary ballot would be ineligible to partake in the caucuses.
Haley, along with several other Republican presidential hopefuls who have since withdrawn from the race, perceived the Nevada GOP as excessively aligned with Trump and chose to forgo the caucus, alleging it was biased in favor of the former president.
Ankney defended their choice to bypass the caucus, stating, “We made the decision early on that we were not going to pay $55,000 to a Trump entity that, you know, to participate in a process that was rigged for Trump.”
