Nikki Haley just suffered a historic political defeat in Nevada.
According to projections, Haley, with more than 83% of the votes counted, is losing by more than 30 points to the "None of the candidates" option, which has 62.9% of the vote. The former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations stands at just 30.8%. The next highest vote-getters are withdrawn candidates Mike Pence (4.0%) and Tim Scott (1.4%).
The Republican primaries in Nevada are somewhat complicated. Haley decided not to run in the February 8 caucus which has 26 electoral delegates up for grabs.
Trump is on the February 8 ballot and will therefore be the Republican candidate to win the Nevada primary.
Why are there two elections? Due to Nevada election law.
In 2021, the then Democratic governor Steve Sisolak signed a new law making it mandatory to hold a primary-style voting day. However, according to a ruling by a local judge in 2023, it's up to the parties' state delegates to decide how to distribute the elections. The Nevada Republican Party opposes the state-organized primary election day and prefers the traditional method of caucuses. For this reason, two elections were held on two different dates.
Haley's campaign never officially explained why she decided not to invest money in Nevada nor why she decided not to participate in the February 8 caucuses, paving the way for Trump.
In a previous report, Voz Media contacted Haley's campaign team asking them to explain their strategy but there was no response.
Analyst Erick Fajardo Pozo, who has a master's degree in political communication from George Washington University, told Voz Media that Haley was just trying to survive Nevada without a defeat against Trump so that she can make it to the South Carolina primaries on February 24 alive.
“She skipped Nevada because she thinks she has a better chance of going 2-1 in South Carolina. She doesn't want to go 3-0 to his home state. I knew that the effect of Nevada was going to be completely adverse on the psychology of the voters,” said Fajardo.
However, the resounding defeat to the “None of the candidates” option, supported by Trump supporters even though the former president is not on the ballot, makes for an unexpected and almost fatal blow for Haley's campaign, which will now have to endure the avalanche of criticism and ridicule from Trump's allies.
Biden strolls through Democratic primaries
On the Democratic side, the vote was a cake walk for the current president, who, with 86% of the votes counted, was close to 90% support. The second choice for Democrats was "None of the candidates," at 6%. Biden’s intra-party rival, Marianne Williamson, fell shy of 3%.
