Republican presidential candidate former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley speaks during a campaign rally at Indigo Hall and Events on February 5, 2024 in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
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Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley lost the Nevada Republican presidential primary to “neither of those candidates,” according to NBC News.
Haley was the only Republican candidate on Tuesday’s ballot, but she wasn’t the only choice on the ballot. Nevada voters also had the option to vote for “none of these candidates.” Votes were still being counted in the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Former President Donald Trump was not on the ballot and no delegates will be awarded from Tuesday’s results.
Behind the schedule of state primaries and caucuses this year is a rift between the Nevada Republican Party and its Democratic-controlled state legislature.
It began in 2021, when the Legislature enacted a new election law requiring the state to hold a primary election. The move was an attempt to move away from the caucus format and give more people the chance to participate in nomination contests.
However, the Nevada Republican Party opposed the change and chose to hold its own caucuses and essentially ignore the primaries.
As a result, Republicans are competing in two separate presidential contests in Nevada this week — though only the caucus winner will receive the 1,215 delegates needed to clinch the nomination.
Trump is virtually unopposed in the caucus because Haley chose to appear on the primary ballot. Applicants can only participate in one competition.
Haley’s campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, downplayed the importance of this week’s Nevada contests. “We haven’t spent a dime or an ounce of energy in Nevada,” he said at a news conference Monday morning.
He also criticized the GOP-run caucus system, which is more favorable to Trump — a candidate with a very loyal base — than a large, statewide primary would likely be. Especially a primary where “None of these candidates” is an option on the ballot.
“We’re not going to pay $55,000 to a Trump entity to participate in a process that’s rigged for Trump,” Ankney said of the state’s GOP caucus.
“Nevada is not and never has been our focus. I’m not really sure what the Trump team is doing out there, but they seem pretty determined about it,” she added.
The former president has long treated his primary rivals as a series of minor distractions on the way to an inevitable rematch with President Joe Biden.
Trump won the Iowa primary and the New Hampshire primary, and polls show him well ahead in South Carolina, which will hold its GOP primary later this month.
Haley is Trump’s last real left-leaning Republican challenger. She has vowed to continue her campaign even if she finishes second in South Carolina, her home state where she once served as governor.
As her electoral path narrows, Haley’s campaign has sharpened its attacks on Trump, arguing that he is a weaker choice to face Biden in a general election. The campaign has cut ads criticizing Trump’s age and “harmless” temperament, while calling him a chicken for refusing to agree to a debate.
Correction: An earlier version of this story was based on an NBC News Decision Desk screening that was later retracted.