Nevada is the next battleground for the Republican presidential nomination, but one of the main contenders, Nikki Haley, will not be on the ballot that matters.
After the 2020 election, Nevada faced a controversy over its caucus results. Pete Buttigieg, a Democratic candidate, claimed that there were errors in the counting process. He asked the state officials to review the numbers.
This led to a change in the law. Nevada decided to run primary races for both parties, instead of letting them handle their own caucuses. The state said this would make the voting more transparent and fair.
However, the parties still have the option to use their own caucuses to allocate delegates for the nomination. Delegates are the people who vote for the candidates at the national convention.
The state-run primary will take place on February 6. But the Republican Party will hold its own caucus on February 8. The caucus will decide who gets the 26 delegates from Nevada.
The Nevada Republican Party also made a rule that anyone who registers for the state primary cannot participate in the caucus. This means that the candidates have to choose one or the other.
Nikki Haley, the former governor of South Carolina and the UN ambassador, signed up for the state primary in October. She did not explain why she did this, but some analysts say she wanted to show her independence from Donald Trump, the former president and the frontrunner in the race.
Trump, on the other hand, did not register for the state primary. He only put his name on the caucus ballot. He is the only candidate on the caucus ballot, which means he will get all the delegates from Nevada.
What happens next
After Nevada, the next primary will be in South Carolina, Haley’s home state. She has a strong base of support there, but she faces a tough challenge from Trump, who is still popular among many Republicans.
In early January, before the race narrowed down to two candidates, Trump had a big lead over Haley in the polls. He also has the advantage of having more delegates than Haley, thanks to his caucus wins in Iowa and Nevada.
Haley hopes to turn the tide in South Carolina and win more delegates in the upcoming states. She says she is the best choice to unite the party and the country. Trump says he is the only one who can defeat the Democrats and restore America’s greatness.
