Why Donald Trump Won’t Be On Nevada’s Primary Ballot
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Former President Donald Trump won’t be on the Nevada primary ballot next month, but it won’t be due to 14th Amendment challenges to his eligibility nor for any outlandish reason, such as forgetting to file paperwork in the state.
Trump, along with some other Republican candidates including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis will be missing from primary voters’ list of options on Tuesday, Feb. 6 because the two candidates opted instead to participate in the GOP’s sanctioned caucus, held just two days later on Feb. 8.
The sole remaining Republican candidate, Nikki Haley, will be on the Nevada primary ballot as she opted to do so. The discrepancy between the two election venues is rooted in a Nevada law enacted in 2021 that transitioned the state from a caucus system to a primary system for nominating presidential candidates. The Nevada GOP has pushed back against the law, going so far as to file a lawsuit challenging the state’s new primary system.
Since caucuses are run by political parties while primaries are run by states, Nevada Republicans technically had the authority, and chose to, hold a caucus in conjunction with the state’s legally required primary. Republican National Committee officials have made clear that the results of the caucus will determine who will be awarded the state’s delegates.
Social media posts providing inaccurate explanations for Trump’s absence, including the one below, have gone viral in recent days.
Experts have also been working to make clear to the public that the omission has nothing to do with challenges to Trump’s eligibility, as is the case in Maine and Colorado.