Nevada Republicans thought they had a brilliant plan to prevent any of former President Donald Trump's rivals from challenging him for the delegates in their state — but instead, reported Politico on Tuesday, their plan has blown up in their face, as they are holding multiple contests with different candidates in each, voters are confused about which will even count, and nationally Republicans have written off the whole state as "irrelevant."
The trouble began when the Democratic-controlled state legislature passed a law shifting Nevada from holding caucuses, which are increasingly falling out of favor due to their complexity and track record of disenfranchising voters, with state-run primaries. But the state GOP decided to hold a caucus anyway and declare that the results of the primary won't count. Party insiders like former executive director Chuck Muth warned this was "bullsh*t" and only done because leaders “wanted the caucus rigged for Trump.”
Ultimately, Trump will appear on the caucus ballot but not the primary ballot, and his only major remaining rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, will appear on the primary ballot but not the caucus ballot. While there is widespread confusion among voters who don't realize there are two contests, Trump winning the delegates is essentially a foregone conclusion — with the consequence that Republicans are barely bothering to campaign in the state, which in previous cycles was seen as essential.
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As a result of the chaos, reported David Siders, "Recent headlines about the election here have ranged from 'EXPERTS: Why Trump, DeSantis are not on Nevada Primary Election ballot' to 'Dual elections causing confusion among Nevada Republican voters' to 'Nevada Republicans can’t decide between a primary or a caucus — so they’re doing both.' Earlier this month, a Reno TV station ran a fact check on a social media post from a rural Nevada voter questioning why her primary ballot was 'missing a certain DONALD J TRUMP.'" Former GOP state controller Ron Knecht bemoaned the situation as "crazy" and "the ultimate degeneration of Republican politics."
All of this comes at a time when Nevada Republicans have seen a long string of losses in federal races, with one of their only major victories being the narrow retaking of the governor's mansion in 2022, and are concerned about their losses with suburban voters going forward.
"Following Trump’s defeat in 2020, a pro-Trump insurgency with ties to the Proud Boys, a militant, far-right group, seized control of the GOP in Nevada’s largest county, Clark. For a time, two competing leadership groups claimed to represent the local GOP," noted the report. Meanwhile, "In Northern Nevada’s Washoe County, a traditional bellwether, several GOP officials resigned from their party positions amid an uprising from pro-Trump activists. To Republicans worried about expanding the party’s reach, a caucus benefitting one candidate was a poor choice."
