- The key early nominating state of Nevada will hold both a caucus and a primary to pick the Republican nominee for president, but the state party will only consult the caucus results when allocating its delegates in 2024.
- The Republican Party of Nevada has been holding caucuses for decades when determining the GOP nominee for president, but a 2021 law implemented a primary system for the cycles; a judge recently clarified the state party still has the power to hold a caucus and award delegates how it sees fit.
- “We just have had good success with the caucus for many years, and wish to continue having that under the control of the party as opposed to an election run by the state that lasts for over a couple of weeks up until election time and a couple of weeks after,”Jim DeGraffenreid, national committeeman for the Nevada Republican Party, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Nevada is holding both a caucus and a primary to pick its Republican nominee for president in 2024, but only one of the elections will determine which candidate receives the state’s delegates.
The state Republican Party has held caucuses for decades in presidential cycles, but former Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak signed legislation in 2021 implementing a primary system in such elections. Nevada’s GOP has pushed back against the new system, and will continue to hold its caucus and award its delegates to the candidate who wins, essentially nullifying the primary election, according to the state party.
“We just have had good success with the caucus for many years, and wish to continue having that under the control of the party as opposed to an election run by the state that lasts for over a couple of weeks up until election time and a couple of weeks after,”Jim DeGraffenreid, national committeeman for the Nevada Republican Party, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We feel like it needs to be just Republicans selecting the nominee rather than hostile forces.”
The Nevada GOP sued the state in late May because it felt having both a caucus and a primary would be “confusing for voters,” DeGraffenreid said. A judge denied the party’s request on July 10 to block the state from holding a primary, but clarified it could still hold its caucus and choose how to award its delegates, according to The Nevada Independent.
The party will likely appeal the court’s decision, according to DeGraffenreid. Nevada is one of the key early nominating states for 2024, with the primary set for Feb. 6 and the caucus on Feb. 8. Iowa’s caucus is on Jan. 15, South Carolina’s primary is on Feb. 24 and New Hampshire has yet to set a date for its primary. (RELATED: ‘Guarding Our Flanks’: Trump Campaign Pulls Strings To Ease His Path To Nomination In 2024)
Up until 2016, Texas used a “two-step” nominating process where it held both a caucus and a primary, and split up its delegates between the two winners, according to The Associated Press. When Hillary Clinton won the primary and Barack Obama won the caucus in 2008, the state Democratic Party awarded more delegates to Obama due to high voter turnout.
While a primary simply involves casting a ballot for one’s preferred candidate in person or, increasingly, by mail, a caucus is a one-day event where party members lobby on behalf of their preferred candidates to reach a decision. Whereas primary voting can occur over the course of weeks and not be finally tallied for weeks after primary day, caucuses determine winners quickly.
The caucus is likely to have “far fewer voters” participate than the primary, which could result in a legal battle if two different candidates win each, Dr. Charles Bullock, elections expert and political science professor at the University of Georgia, told the DCNF.
We look forward to hosting the First In The West Presidential Caucus on February 8, 2024!
Nevada plays an instrumental role in determining the next President of the United States, and we are excited for each Republican nominee to engage with Republican grassroots voters.
Read… pic.twitter.com/5Y38hofVZb
— Nevada GOP (@NVGOP) August 14, 2023
Tami Rae Spero, county clerk in predominately Republican Humboldt County, believes the two nominating contests will likely confuse voters, but told the DCNF its up to the state party to “make the decision that best serves them.”
“I believe the voters will be questioning the two different methods,” said Spero. “Hopefully between the Secretary of State’s Office, the Republican Party and the local election officials we can get the word out and explain the situation in an effective matter.”
Jeremy Hughes, Republican strategist in Nevada, echoed Spero’s sentiment, and told the DCNF he hopes the two elections will increase voter turnout.
“I don’t think it’s ideal that we have two nominating contests,” said Hughes. “It should be clear to all that the the caucus will be where the delegates are allocated.”
The state party is going to focus on informing voters that the caucus is the only nominating process that matters via social media, emails and state and local central committees, said DeGraffenreid. The Nevada GOP won’t dissuade voters from casting a ballot in the primary election, but will instead encourage them to vote in both.
The state Republican Party argues the caucuses are more effective, citing same-day results, transparent ballot counting and more. Other Republicans disagree, and believe it doesn’t allow for the voter’s voice to be heard.
“Nevada is also a state that issues a mail-in ballot to each registered voter. These will not count toward a caucus. This method is preferred for those who struggle with transportation, are sick, or elderly,” former chair of the state GOP Amy Tarkanian told the DCNF. “Telling Nevada Republicans their vote will not matter if they participate in the state-mandated primary will cause anger, apathy, and confusion. Many question why bother if you don’t have the time to set aside to take part in a caucus.”
Tarkanian believes the current party leadership in Nevada is supportive of former President Donald Trump’s reelection bid, and told the DCNF they are continuing to hold its caucus and award its delegates that way to benefit him.
“This move is clearly to favor Trump. As an incumbent, he already has the infrastructure and base in place. All other candidates will be left scrambling last minute to put together a caucus team,” said Tarkanian. “This will be another inept and disastrous move by the NVGOP.”
Former President Donald Trump is leading Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis by 30 points in Nevada among a crowded field of Republican presidential hopefuls, according to a late June American Greatness poll. Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley are tied for third with 3% each, followed by conservative businessman Vivek Ramaswamy, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence who all received 2% each.
DeGraffenreid doesn’t believe caucuses benefit any one candidate, like the former president, and argued it actually gives many campaigns the ability to “work with the grassroots.”
There hasn’t been much of a ground game operation with many of the candidates in Nevada, since everyone was waiting to see whether there would continue to be a caucus, according to Hughes. Now that the decision has been finalized to keep the caucus and award delegates with its results, Hughes expects candidates to ramp up their efforts in the state.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.