The US Republican presidential primary in the state of Nevada recently took place, representing a significant episode in the ongoing political saga. The former UN ambassador Nikki Haley suffered a noteworthy defeat in this contest. Haley’s only remaining competitor within the party, the former president Donald Trump received 32 percent of the votes on Tuesday. Interestingly, this was significantly less than the “none of these candidates” option, which garnered more than 61 percent of the votes. This unusual occurrence was even more remarkable considering Haley had virtually no opposing candidates and Trump’s name was not listed on the ballot.
Despite the emphatic result, this outcome does not have a direct influence on the race for the Republican nomination. The reason for this is that a victory in the primary is not a definitive factor for the delegate votes, which play a crucial role in the party conventions where candidates are formally nominated. The Nevada primary was marked by a disagreement between the state authorities and the Republicans in Nevada. Consequently, the party decided to overlook the primary election in the state and hold its own caucus on Thursday. In this caucus, Donald Trump is the only significant candidate, and it is also where the delegate votes will be distributed.
Continuing Struggles
For Nikki Haley, the outcome in Nevada represents another stumbling block in her political journey. She had previously lost the votes in Iowa and New Hampshire in the intra-party race against Trump, who was considered the favorite. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly evident that she will likely face defeat in the upcoming vote in her home state of South Carolina this month.
Parallel to the Republican primary, the Democratic primary in Nevada also took place on Tuesday. President Joe Biden emerged as the clear winner with approximately 90 percent of the votes. At 81 years old, Biden is virtually assured to be the Democratic candidate in the upcoming presidential election on November 5th, due to lack of significant competition.
