Nevada will hold a presidential preference primary (PPP) on February 6. This change was made by the state lawmakers during the 2021 Nevada Legislature. The primary election will determine the state's preference for the presidential candidate.
Despite the option to join the state primary, the Nevada GOP has chosen to organize its own caucus on February 8, just two days after the state's presidential preference primary (PPP) on February 6. The party has made it clear that candidates who file for the primary will be barred from participating in their caucus, and only the caucus will award delegates to the 2024 Republican National Convention in July.
Former President Donald Trump, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie have paid $55k each to enter the Nevada GOP caucus. On the other hand, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott have filed for the state primary.
We asked Nevada Secretary Of State Cisco Aguilar if he has talked to the Republican Party about what a primary win would mean for candidates like Haley or Pence, given there is no delegates.
"They have not shared those plans with me at this point in time, but I have reached out to them and asked them for a conversation to understand how we can better service all Nevada voters to ensure that voters understand the processes and understand where their involvement is most appreciated," explained (D-NV) Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar.
The primary is essentially a straw poll that gives voters an opportunity to express their preference for the Republican nominee. Winning the primary could give candidates some momentum heading into other early primary states and could help them gain media attention and fundraising support.
"Nevada being a battleground state, Nevada is going to have an opportunity to have a major voice in who the actual President of the United States is," said Aguilar.
National Republican Committeeman Jim Degraffenreid told 2 News that the Nevada GOP will not discourage voters from participating in the primary. What that means is that Republican voters in Nevada will have the opportunity to vote in two nominating processes with two different sets of high profile candidates to choose from.
"It goes to I guess voter confusion among Republican voters. That's really the responsibility of the party to explain to it's members how the process works. But it's also to educate who is on what ballot, you know you have a split of the candidates. You have a certain group of candidates participating in the caucus, you have a certain group of candidates who participating in the primary. It's also going to be up to those candidates to educate their voters and their supporters as to which process they want to choose," explained Aguilar.
An important reminder, voters must register with one of the major parties to participate. Early voting begins on January 27.
You can find more information on nvsos.gov
