WASHINGTON – Nevada again holds the coveted first-in-the-West slot in the presidential campaign calendar, but this year’s showdown in the Silver State won’t look like it did in previous years.
State lawmakers opted to move away from the Iowa-style presidential caucuses that Nevada had held for years in favor of a traditional, state-run primary held Tuesday. The state GOP opposed the plan and opted to hold caucuses two days later to allocate delegates. The party also barred candidates running in the primary from running in the caucuses, forcing them to choose one event over the other.
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Donald Trump is competing in the caucuses, in which all 26 delegates will be awarded, while Nikki Haley opted to stay on the non-binding primary ballot. She was the only active major candidate on the ballot, but the top vote-getter was the “None of these candidates” option, with 63 percent, chosen by Trump supporters and disaffected voters.
In Tuesday’s Democratic primary, President Joe Biden easily defeated Marianne Williamson and a handful of relatively unknown challengers.
The Republican caucuses will feature two candidates: Trump and Ryan Binkley, a pastor. Caucus hours Thursday are 5 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. local time, which is 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET.
The GOP caucuses are limited to registered Republicans. The deadline to register was Jan. 9. No same-day registration is permitted. Caucus-goers must present a government-issued ID.