The Two Republican Front Runners Will Not Appear on the Same Ballot in Nevada - What Happens Next?

The GOP caucus was held Thursday, with Trump winning the 26 delegates to the Republican National Convention as the only major Republican candidate on the ballot, securing his third state after victories in New Hampshire and Iowa (Manny Becerra/Unsplash).

The GOP insisted on holding a traditional party-led caucus in Nevada this week. Despite Haley and Trump on separate ballots, Republican voters could participate in both the primary and the caucus to decide who wins 26 delegates to the Republican National Convention.

Article by Julia O’Keefe, Senior Election Correspondent

LAS VEGAS - Nevada hosted its presidential primaries Tuesday, but Republican front-runner, former President Donald Trump, was not on the Republican ballot. 

Despite a 2021 state law, the GOP insisted on hosting a traditional party-led caucus in Nevada Thursday, leaving former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley on the primary ballot alone, while Trump opted to participate in the caucus. 

According to CBS News, Haley came in second to the “none of these candidates” option on Nevada’s Republican primary ballot, an unfortunate blow to her campaign. 58% of precincts reported late Tuesday, the "none of these candidates category" had 60% of the vote, with Haley at 33%. 

This GOP choice to hold both a primary and a caucus followed a change to state law in 2021 by the majority-Democratic legislature, led by then-Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak. This law required the state to move from party-run caucuses to government-run primaries due to weakening attendance at caucuses and frustration after results from the 2020 Democratic caucus were delayed for 2 days, per Spectrum News. This change was meant to improve voter access while other states restricted voting in an attempt to minimize the possibilities of voter fraud. 

The Nevada GOP protested this law, arguing caucasus are more secure and draw a stronger connection between candidates and voters, and sued to stop the primary from being held last year. In July 2023, a local Nevada judge ruled that both the primary and caucus would be held, leaving it up to the Nevada Republican Party to decide how to allocate its 26 Republican National Convention delegates, ultimately concluding they would come from the caucuses and the primary victor would win mere bragging rights. 

In turn, anyone on the primary ballot was not allowed on the caucus ballot. Therefore, the two Republican front-runners, Haley and Trump, did not appear on the same ballot. 

Haley opted for the primary ballot, despite the caucus being the only official state-held race. Registered Republicans can vote in both the primary and the caucus, meaning most Trump supporters were voting in the primary simply to vote against Haley. 

“Simply put, candidates who participate in an illegitimate process cannot expect to earn legitimate delegates to the Republican National Convention," the Nevada GOP said in a statement, according to CBS News. 

According to the Associated Press, “Haley cited what she considered an unfair process favoring Trump and instead ran in Nevada’s symbolic state-run presidential primary on Tuesday, when she finished behind the ‘none of these candidates’ option.” 

The GOP caucus was held Thursday, with Trump winning the 26 delegates to the Republican National Convention as the only major Republican candidate on the ballot, securing his third state after victories in New Hampshire and Iowa. 

Despite being the front-runner, Nevada’s caucuses were seen as “especially skewed in [Trump’s] favor”, according to the Associated Press, “due to the intense grassroots support caucuses require candidates to harness around a state in order to win”. Nevada’s state party prohibits candidates from running both in the primary and caucuses and requires voters to show up in person unlike elections, which offer more flexibility through absentee or early voting. As a result, Trump’s supporters showed up to wait in long lines on Thursday

Next Saturday, Feb. 24 is the South Carolina primary in Haley’s home state. Although Trump has gathered widespread support in deeply conservative areas, Haley has won two elections as South Carolina’s governor and is hoping local support boosts her campaign. 

Trump is looking forward to declaring a victory in the upcoming South Carolina primary. 

“We’re leading everybody,” he said per the Associated Press. “Is there any way we can call the election for next Tuesday? That’s all I want.”

The former President still confronts problems outside the polls. Facing 91 criminal charges in four separate cases, a federal appeals panel ruled this week that Trump is not immune from prosecution. Despite these charges, Trump supporters continue to show up at the polls backing the former President.