by April Corbin Girnus, Nevada Current
Nevada’s confusing and chaotic moment in the nation’s presidential nomination process came to its inevitable end Thursday, with former President Donald Trump winning the Nevada Republican caucus, two days after a symbolic victory in a state-run primary.
The Associated Press called the caucus for Trump on Thursday night shortly after 8 p.m. with only a few rural counties reported. Trump’s only competitor was the largely unknown Ryan Binkley. Nikki Haley, the only competitive candidate nationwide, did not participate in Nevada’s party-run caucus and instead competed in the state-run presidential preference primary, which she lost to “none of these candidates.”
Trump attended a watch party in Las Vegas at the TI on Thursday.
After a push from Nevada Democrats to become the first state on the presidential nomination calendar fell short, the Silver State settled for “First in the West.” Some had hoped the state would become more relevant nationally, but the dueling Republican caucus-primary held two days apart with different candidates resulted in national media and candidates largely ignoring the state.
And the caucus itself was marred with transparency issues.
Caucus versus primary
The law mandating presidential preference primaries be held was passed by the Nevada State Legislature and signed into law by then-Gov. Steve Sisolak in 2021. The legislation passed on party lines, with no Republicans supporting it.
Nevada Republican Party officials announced they would hold their own caucus despite the law. They passed caucus rules that barred candidates from participating in both, and they determined that delegates would be allocated based on caucus results, not primary results.
For months leading up to the caucus, staff from rival Republican presidential campaigns that were still in the race were critical of the state party’s caucus, arguing the state party deliberately designed and scheduled the contest to assure Donald Trump wins Nevada’s delegates to the Republican National Convention.
State party chair Michael McDonald, who has been indicted for fraudulently serving as a “fake elector” in the Trump scheme to overturn the 2020 election results, initially denied the allegations.
But McDonald dropped any pretense of neutrality in a December Trump rally, when other candidates were still in the race, and told Republicans to caucus for Trump. McDonald reiterated his endorsement of Trump again at a January 27 Trump rally in Las Vegas.
The Nevada GOP’s caucus website highlights features of their caucus: voter identification requirement, precinct-based voting, paper ballots, and transparent tabulation. Those are in stark contrast to voting reforms like early voting and universal mail ballots, which Nevada has adopted and voters have embraced.
An info sheet posted by the Nevada Republican Party takes a defensive attitude, reading, “Contrary to reports that the NVGOP is trying to confuse Nevada Republican votes, the truth is that the 2024 primary is an all new, very expensive, and meaningless process.”
The Nevada secretary of state’s office has said that a third of its phone calls from voters in the lead up to the primary were about why Trump was not on their ballot.
The SOS released a “2024 Election Cycle: Myths vs. Facts” explainer. Included among the myths: “The Presidential Preference Primary is a waste of time and money.”
“Every election is important and showcases the will of the people,” the SOS sheet states, before highlighting features like early voting and mail ballots that expand accessibility.
That fact sheet also pushes back against the suggestion that state law barred candidates from participating in both the primary and caucus — something Trump’s campaign insinuated in an email to supporters.
Caucus-goers who agreed to be interviewed by the Current all said they chose not to participate in the state-run Nevada primary on Tuesday for a variety of reasons, including a distrust of the state-run primary election process.
Maryanne, who declined to provide her last name, said she felt duty-bound to participate in the Republican-run caucus and hopes the former president can finally win Nevada this upcoming presidential election.
“I thought it was a little strange that he didn’t win. It’s a lot strange that he didn’t win. Who knows what’s going to happen? You know, we’re hoping for the best. I think that was the other reason I came out,” Maryanne said.
Debby Goldberg, a self-identified former Democrat, said she is now “a proud Republican” and was eager to throw her full support behind Trump by participating in the Republican-run caucus.
“I was just excited,” Goldberg said.
Transparency, process issues
According to The Nevada Independent, the Washoe County GOP allowed media to enter and observe only one designated caucus site. This was despite the Washoe County School District telling the Reno Gazette Journal that its rental policy is that closed political events are not an acceptable use of facilities.
Public school facilities make up a significant portion of caucus sites across the state.
Clark County School District’s communications office declined to answer whether closed political meetings are an allowed use of their facilities and instead directed the Current to its facility use regulations and guidelines. Those do not explicitly say anything about private political events being held at public schools.
NV Indy reported the Clark County GOP banned all members of the press from observing the caucus.
The Nevada Republican Party routinely ignores the Current’s questions and requests for comment. They, along with the Clark County Republican Party, ignored questions this week regarding their media access.
Reporters from 8 News Now and the Las Vegas Sun stated on social media that the Nevada GOP has ignored their requests for information on how to cover the caucus.
At Del Webb Middle School in Henderson’s planned community Anthem, a long line of lively caucus goers circled the school for their chance to participate in the caucus. By 5:30 pm, cars lined nearly every street around the school and filled several parking lots nearby.
But the packed school also led to disorganization and chaos. Caucus goers expressed confusion due to the lack of signs and volunteers directing the crowd. Hundreds of caucus goers in line were funneled through a single entrance into the school’s gym where volunteers checked for eligible voters.
James, who declined to give his last name, was only able to cast a provisional ballot for Trump because his name was not recorded as an eligible voter. He said he witnessed many voters face the same issue. Many other voters left before casting their vote, after waiting in line for up to an hour without much progress.
“I have been a volunteer and I’ve voted Republican for every election since 1968. I’ve never seen it like this. It’s a shame. All of these people are for Trump and they’re disappointed because of the disorganization,” he said.
Other voters echoed that disappointment.
Maryanne, 80, arrived at the Del Webb Middle School caucus location before 5 p.m. expecting a smooth process like previous years, but what she got was “unbelievable.”
“It was definitely a nightmare,” she continued.
She said she was grateful the Republican party allowed caucus goers to drop off their vote this year, rather than requiring them to stay through the whole process.
“I don’t see how we could stay all the hours,” Maryanne said. “That’s enough. We came to do what we had to do and that was it.”
Nevada Current is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Nevada Current maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Hugh Jackson for questions: [email protected]. Follow Nevada Current on Facebook and Twitter.
