Trump Wins Nevada Republican Caucus in March to Nomination

Hadriana Lowenkron
·3 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Former President Donald Trump dominated the Nevada caucuses, notching another victory as he closes in on the Republican nomination in a state that will be a critical general-election battleground.

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News networks, including NBC, ABC and the Associated Press called the race for the former president about 40 minutes after caucus sites closed Thursday evening. Trump will receive all of Nevada’s delegates after rival former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley did not participate in the contest, opting instead to participate in the Nevada GOP primary on Tuesday.

Haley, though, suffered an embarrassing defeat in the primary, coming in second place to a ballot option for “none of these candidates,” a setback to her efforts to cut into Trump’s dominant position in the race.

Legislators authorized a state-run primary but the Nevada GOP decided to hold their own caucuses to award delegates. The untraditional setup sparked criticism from rival campaigns that the process would confuse Republican voters and was done to give Trump an edge.

Read more: Trump’s Guaranteed Victory in Nevada to Build on 2024 Momentum

Earlier Thursday, Trump swept the US Virgin Islands’ nominating contest, picking up the territory’s four delegates.

South Carolina Next

Trump is on the cusp of clinching the GOP nomination — a contest he has sought to wrap up quickly so that he can pivot to running against President Joe Biden, even as a series of court cases threaten to keep the former president from the trail.

His Thursday victories came the same day that the US Supreme Court weighed a historic clash over Colorado voter efforts to disqualify him over his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

The next major Republican contest is on Feb. 24 in South Carolina, the state where Haley was born and served two terms as governor. A loss there would be a devastating blow to her campaign even though aides have signaled she will stay in the race through Super Tuesday on March 5, when more than a dozen states vote. Haley trails Trump in her home state by more than 30 percentage points, according to the RealClearPolitics average of GOP polls.

Haley saw a surge in fundraising in January, raising $16.5 million, although it is unclear how much of that was raised before Trump’s victories in Iowa and New Hampshire. A strong showing in South Carolina can keep the cash flowing. In recent days, she has attended high-dollar fundraisers in New York and Florida to court Wall Street executives.

Read more: Wealthy Donors Keep Pouring More Money Into Haley’s Longshot Bid

Haley has sought to appeal to moderate voters and independents in hopes of chipping away at Trump’s lead in conservative South Carolina. The state, like New Hampshire, has an open primary system, allowing registered voters to decide in which primary, Republican or Democratic, they will cast a ballot.

(Updates to include more details throughout)

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