Trump projected to win Republican Nevada caucuses after Haley loses symbolic primary – CBS News
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Washington — CBS News projects that former President Donald Trump will win the Nevada Republican caucuses Thursday, easily defeating challenger Ryan Binkley.
Nevada’s Republican voters had another chance to vote for their preferred presidential candidate in Thursday’s caucuses, with Trump on the ballot this time.
The state hosted Republican and Democratic primaries on Tuesday, but Trump did not appear on the GOP ballot because the Nevada Republican Party opted to hold its caucuses and made it the only contest that would allocate the state’s 26 delegates.
But even without Trump on Tuesday’s ballot, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who participated in Tuesday’s primary instead of the caucuses, finished second behind “none of these candidates,” an embarrassing defeat as she seeks to sell herself as a serious challenger to Trump.
The caucuses began at 5 p.m. and ended at 7:30 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET. Caucusgoers can stay for the entire meeting or cast their secret ballots and leave.
In 2021, Nevada implemented new election laws, including changing the state-run presidential contest to a primary. Still, the Nevada Republican Party said it would hold separate caucuses and penalize candidates who participate in the primary by making them ineligible to receive delegates.
But Haley, and a couple other candidates who have since ended their presidential campaigns, filed for the primary, despite the results being effectively meaningless. Haley argued that the caucuses were rigged in favor of Trump, and she did not campaign in the state.
Trump opted to take part in the party-run caucuses instead of the state-run primary.
The Nevada Republican Party barred candidates who appeared on the primary ballot from participating in the caucuses.
“None of these candidates” was the top vote-getter on Tuesday, with Haley coming in second. Former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, who dropped out of the race well before the primary but were still on the ballot, placed third and fourth, respectively.
Trump, the Republican frontrunner, was the only major candidate on the caucus ballot. Little-known candidate Ryan Binkley, a pastor and businessman, was also on the ballot.
Before Nevada’s caucuses, Trump had an estimated 33 delegates, compared to Haley’s 17. The Nevada caucuses allocate 26 delegates.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at cbsnews.com and is based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
First published on February 8, 2024 / 7:51 AM EST
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