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Former S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley was humiliatingly defeated by nobody in Nevada’s Republican non-binding primary race in a resounding two-to-one margin despite being the only major presidential candidate on the ballot.
Decision Desk HQ called the race for “None of These Candidates” at 11:54 p.m. ET, who won the race with 63.2 percent to Haley’s 30.5 percent.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who withdrew from the race in October, received four percent, and former candidate S.C. Sen. Tim Scott took just one percent.
Voters could not cast their ballots for President Trump since he is on the caucus ballot and not the primary ballot, so many opted to elect “None of These Candidates” instead of other contenders like Haley on Tuesday.
Nevada’s primary results are seemingly invaluable since the state will operate on a caucus system to award its delegates. Haley outwardly avoided the state because even if she won its primary, she would not have received any delegates.
“In terms of Nevada, we have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada,” said Betsy Ankney, Haley’s campaign manager, to reporters on Monday.
President Trump poked fun at the former U.N. ambassador’s crushing loss shortly after the results were reported, calling it a “bad night” for his only primary opponent left in the race.
“A bad night for Nikki Haley,” Trump wrote in a post to Truth Social on Tuesday. “Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to ‘None of These Candidates.’ Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!”
President Trump was not on the state’s primary ballot—even as a write-in candidate. He will, however, appear in Nevada’s caucus ballot on Thursday, which Trump will likely win since he will be the only major candidate to appear on this ticket.
In 2021, Nevada’s Democrat-controlled state legislature passed a law to move the state from holding party-run caucuses to state-run primaries.
In complete disagreement with the measure, Nevada’s Republican Party opted to continue running their own caucuses to determine the winner of their party’s delegates for their party’s nomination.
By virtue of this rule, Trump is the only major candidate eligible to receive delegates in Nevada, and Haley’s presence on the non-binding primary ballot has absolutely no bearing on who carries the state’s delegates.
Nevada’s official primary caucuses will occur on Thursday, Feb. 8, with 26 delegates up for grabs. The U.S. Virgin Islands will also hold their caucuses on this same day with four delegates in contention.