Former President Donald Trump is poised to secure Nevada’s Republican presidential delegates, yet some of his supporters are left perplexed as they fail to find his name on their primary ballots. This confusion stems from Nevada’s unique dual 2024 system, where two separate GOP contests will take place within a span of three days.
The state government-run primary on February 6 does not feature Trump on the ballot and no delegates are at stake. In contrast, the Nevada Republican Party-run caucuses on February 8 will see Trump, unopposed, vying for the state’s 26 delegates. The discrepancy in the candidate choices between the two elections is causing confusion among early primary voters.
Trump is only participating in the caucuses, hence his absence from the primary ballots. Meanwhile, his main 2024 GOP contender, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, is on the primary ballot but will not participate in the caucuses.
Trump, addressing a rally in Las Vegas, advised his supporters to focus on the caucus. However, some of his supporters were left baffled by the dual system. Leslie Miller, a Trump supporter, expressed her confusion, “I was like, why is the guy that I want to vote for not on this thing?”
The dual contests are a result of a 2021 Nevada state law that mandates a primary, a departure from the state’s previous use of a presidential caucus system. While Democrats in the state have adopted the primary system, Republicans, led by Trump loyalists, have chosen to hold their own caucuses.
The Nevada GOP had warned presidential candidates that they would not receive any delegates if they filed to run in the state’s primary. Despite this, some candidates, including Haley, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, and former Vice President Mike Pence, chose to do so. All but Haley have since dropped out of the race.
Trump’s victory in the caucuses was effectively sealed with the withdrawal of other candidates. Nevada Republican Party Chairman Michael McDonald, at Trump’s Las Vegas rally, confidently declared, “We will deliver you 100% of delegates of the state of Nevada to Donald J. Trump.”
The state GOP’s decision has drawn criticism, with some suggesting it was a move to ensure Trump’s success. Former Clark County Republican Party Chairman Chuck Muth said, “I believe that they set up the caucus because they wanted to assure that Donald Trump was not embarrassed in Nevada and secured Nevada’s vote.”
The controversy surrounding Nevada’s dual contests is further fueled by the indictments of state Republican Party leaders for allegedly attempting to falsely certify that Trump won Nevada in 2020. Amy Tarkanian, a former state GOP chairwoman, criticized the situation, saying, “How do you trust it? To me, it comes across as a complete pro-Trump scam.”