On Tuesday, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley suffered a humiliating defeat as “none of these candidates” prevailed in Nevada’s GOP presidential primary.
Nikki Haley loses to ‘None’ in Nevada primary
Since the “none of the above” option was established in Nevada in 1975, Nikki Haley became the only candidate, regardless of party, to experience such a setback.
Former President Donald Trump’s decision to skip the primaries caused the South Carolina governor to take a blow by losing Tuesday to “none of these candidates.”
The former president’s decision to step down focused on winning the GOP-led caucuses Thursday night.
After nearly two-thirds of the state’s votes were counted, Haley received about 32 percent, while “none” received about 62 percent.
Although “none of these candidates” garnered more votes, the winner is determined by the total votes, in accordance with Nevada state law. Nonetheless, Haley is the declared winner.
Despite a massive public education campaign from the media and election organizers, many Republican voters remained perplexed as to why Trump’s name was missing from the primary ballot.
On Tuesday, many Republican voters said they supported the former president by voting for “none of these candidates” after being confused by his absence.
Ron Stanley, a 64-year-old Republican truck driver who voted in person in downtown Reno, said, “I wanted Donald Trump to be there. »
Initially, Stanley said he thought election organizers reacted quickly when he noticed Trump’s name was missing.
However, he quickly realized that the former president had skipped the primary, thus voting “none.”
Stanley said: “Nikki Haley is not the answer. Trump is the guy who has shown, through his business experience, that he can make the tough decisions we need.
Small businesses and family farms face many restrictions. The answer is not more government.
This year’s Tuesday election passed remarkably calmly compared to previous years, with no cheers for their preferred candidate outside polling stations and no visible campaign signs.
Haley also decided to refrain from running a strong campaign in Nevada because she believed the process was heavily biased in favor of Trump.
Instead, she focused on her campaign in her home state of South Carolina, whose primaries take place on February 24.
Olivia Perez-Cubas, Nikki Haley’s campaign spokeswoman, said: “We didn’t bother to play a rigged game for Trump. We’re full steam ahead in South Carolina and beyond.
Gary Benedetti, 75, expressed optimism that Haley would remain in the competition, while saying he couldn’t bear the thought of another Trump administration. He said: “We need a change. I’m tired of the drama.
He added: “If it doesn’t work out with her, I’ll move to Independent. I’m just not going to vote for Trump. There are too many red flags hanging over his head.
Manufacturing worker and Republican Michael Holton said he reluctantly voted at a South Reno polling place for “none of these candidates” while expressing his desire for Trump to participate in the primary.
Holton also accused Haley and claimed she showed disloyalty by running against her former employer. Holton said, “I’m disappointed he’s not on the ballot. »
He added: “I think the caucus will be strong for him, but I’m just disappointed he’s not on the ballot.” »
In contrast, nearly 90% of the Democratic vote went to President Joe Biden, who had no real competition on the ballot. He defeated several rivals, including self-help author Marianne Williamson.
About 6% of Democratic voters selected “none of these candidates.”
In return, Biden thanked Nevada Democrats for their support and called them “the backbone of our nation.”
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