Welcome to the chaos that is the Republican Party in Nevada. The state will serve as an example this week of what the divisions within the conservative organization look like in practice. What is unusual is that the region is holding primaries this Tuesday to elect a presidential candidate. He will hold a caucus to that end on Thursday. Party officials in Nevada have added complexity to the process as Donald Trump casts a shadow of distrust over election laws since his defeat in 2020. In all this chaos, there is one certainty: the former president will win the delegates at stake after Thursday's vote. Nikki Haley, Trump's sole contender, skipped that state to contest the remainder on Feb. 24 in her territory, South Carolina, the state she governed between 2011 and 2017.
Ironically, Nikki Haley is the favorite to win this Tuesday's primary election. Trump's ambassador to the United Nations will almost certainly triumph this afternoon for one simple reason: She's running alone. Haley, who won New Hampshire, is the only notable candidate on the Republican ticket since Trump has not registered for the trial. However, it will be a tenuous victory for the former governor, who had to pay a fee to contest. “We haven’t spent a dime or an ounce of energy in Nevada. “We decided a long time ago that we would not give a Trump organization $55,000 to participate in a process designed to win Trump,” Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, said Monday.
The spoils of that trial are actually at stake on Thursday, when Trump takes part in an electoral college where Haley is not among the options. His only rival will be Texas businessman Ryan Binkley. Then the former president will add to his cause the 26 electoral delegates that Nevada allocates, bringing him closer to the goal of 1,215 he needs to secure the nomination.
Nevada is considered a purple state due to its pragmatism of voting for both Republicans and Democrats in elections. Nevertheless, the region has consistently supported Democratic presidential candidates since 2008. In November 2020, Joe Biden defeated Trump by a narrow margin of 2.39%. However, the former president improved his results compared to the 2016 elections.
The Nevada Republican Party abandoned any semblance of objectivity in December when the organization's president appeared at a Trump rally in Reno, Nevada's capital. “The eighth of February!” shouted Michael McDonald as a welcome greeting to the man who wants to return to the White House in November. “Mark your calendars. “This is the day to speak out in favor of Donald Trump in the caucus,” he added. “On this day, you must go to the polls with your neighbors, sit with them and tell them how great Donald Trump is. And then you have to mark Donald J. Trump on the ballot,” McDonald assured the crowd.
At that rally, which took place in mid-December, there were still several profiles in the Republican race trying to unseat Trump for the top spot in the nomination. One by one, the applicants dropped out of the process. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis put his presidential ambitions on hold on Jan. 21 when he announced he would suspend his campaign. The politician's departure left Haley as the former president's only serious competitor.
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Although primaries and caucuses are often used interchangeably, the processes are different. Organized by state authorities, the primary election is an event open to anyone who is registered to vote. Many residents of the state of 3.1 million people have received mail-in ballots on which Trump does not appear. Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, a Republican, said he would participate in the primary election organized by officials in his administration. You shared the importance of your voice. Will check the “None of the above” box this Tuesday. On Thursday he will support Donald Trump.
The caucus, on the other hand, is a closed process organized by party officials and only those registered as Republicans in the census can participate. This system can be problematic for many voters who prefer to send their votes by mail so as not to interrupt their activities or leave work. This makes the election results more unpredictable, but not this time when Trump has no competition. Supporters of the former president prefer to return to the traditional process, arguing that it is easier to orchestrate fraud through the postal system.
Democratic primaries
Trump isn't the only one who will travel through Nevada without incident. President Joe Biden is also appearing in a primary election. Biden is expected to easily beat his rival, as he did in Carolna sel Sur, author Marianne Williamson, the best-known among a handful of candidates seeking to wrest the candidacy from the current White House occupant. Congressman Dean Phillips also left out Nevada.
Biden is already thinking about November. The president visited Las Vegas this Sunday and Monday and made it clear that he expects to run against Trump again. Biden warned that a second presidency by the controversial businessman and politician would be a “nightmare” for the United States.
On Monday, the President attended an event organized by service unions in the tourism sector. The sector was key to Biden's victory in 2020 and maintaining its support will be crucial for Democrats in the fall elections. “I have come to thank you for the support you have given me and for the support I hope you will give me. And thank you for your trust in unions,” Biden assured members of an organization that represents 60,000 casino and hotel workers on the Strip. Unions reached an agreement with employers on Monday to avoid a mid-week strike as the city hosts the Super Bowl, the American football final.
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