Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has suffered a defeat in Nevada’s primary, finishing behind ballots marked “none of these candidates” by supporters of Donald Trump, according to Edison Research.
Ms Haley, the last remaining rival to Mr Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, was the only major Republican candidate contesting the party’s Nevada primary. Mr Trump was not on the ballot.
US President Joe Biden easily won Nevada’s Democratic presidential primary after dominating his party’s first nominating contest in South Carolina on Saturday.
With more than 70% of votes counted, Mr Biden had 90% support.
Mr Biden, as an incumbent president, faces little opposition within his own party to running for re-election in a likely general election rematch with Mr Trump in November.
Former President Trump will secure all of Nevada’s delegates in a separate caucus vote tomorrow, as he moves closer to clinching the nomination after back-to-back wins in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Mr Trump did not compete in last night’s primary, which carried no weight in the Republican presidential nominating contest. Ms Haley is not on the ballot in tomorrow’s caucus.
Republican voters could mark their ballots “none of these candidates” in yesterday’s primary, and Ms Haley has infuriated Mr Trump by refusing to drop out of the Republican nominating contest.
With nearly two-thirds of the Republican ballots counted, Ms Haley had 33% of the votes, with “none of these candidates” at 60% and the winner, according to Edison Research.
The rival Republican caucus is being run by the Trump-friendly state party, and with only Mr Trump on that ballot, he is almost certainly guaranteed victory and all of the state’s 26 delegates to the Republican National Convention in July, when the party formally nominates its candidate.
Voters can participate in both the Republican primary yesterday and the Republican caucus tomorrow.
Joe Lombardo, Nevada’s Republican governor and a Trump supporter, had said he would vote “none of these candidates” before yesterday’s vote and caucus for Mr Trump tomorrow.
The competing Republican ballots are the result of a conflict between the state Republican Party – run by Trump allies – and a 2021 state law that mandates a primary must be held.
In a visit to Nevada last week, Mr Trump urged voters to ignore yesterday’s primary and only vote in tomorrow’s caucus.
Ms Haley has vowed to stay in the Republican nominating race and on to a potential last stand in her home state of South Carolina on 24 February, but she has no clear path to the nomination.
She trails Mr Trump badly in South Carolina, according to opinion polls.
Mr Biden campaigned in Nevada on Sunday and Monday. He appeared on the ballot along with self-help author Marianne Williamson and other lesser-known Democratic challengers.
Despite yesterday’s results in Nevada having little impact on the nominating contests, the state will be a hotly contested battleground because its population can swing to either party and play a significant role in November’s presidential election.
In 2020, Mr Biden beat Mr Trump in Nevada by 2.4 percentage points. Opinion polls show a likely rematch between the two in the state will be close.
