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Saturday, April 27, 2024
February 5, 2024
Raheem J. Kassam
Analysis
Election 2024

KASSAM: The Nevada ‘Primary’ Debacle Puts Haley on the Side of Democrats & Marc Elias.

Nimarata ‘Nikki’ Haley might get a meaningless boost to her meaningless campaign on Tuesday, as the results come from a Nevada primary labeled “the most confusing and significant debacle… ever seen in Republican politics” by local GOP committeeman Will Bradley.

Besides Mike Pence and Tim Scott, who have already dropped out, Haley is the only candidate with any name recognition on the ballot. And she’s going to try and claim a victory on Tuesday night.

“But wait!” I hear you cry. “The primary is on Thursday, and Donald Trump has quite a lot of name recognition!”

That’s the problem in Nevada this cycle. If you’re thinking of Thursday, you’re thinking of the state party caucus, not the state-run primary. And that’s where Donald Trump is competing, alongside his only challenger, Texas businessman Ryan Binkley.

“If we can get 5 or 10 percent, get a delegate or two, come out here and get some national attention, that’s really our goal,” Binkley told 2 News Nevada, as if anyone cares.

HOW?

The Nevada GOP’s conundrum bizarrely emerged from the left’s obsession with maintaining its ability to cheat and, indeed, its inability to run its own election securely, likely as a result of the former.

Historically, Nevada does caucuses. But in 2021, the Democrat-run state legislature rammed through a law signed by outgoing governor Steve Sisolak. The bill attempted to take the process out of the hands of the respective parties and hand it to the state, replete with mail-in ballots, no voter ID, and a process riddled with confusion.

The GOP, however, refused to take part. Well, apart from Tim Scott, Mike Pence, and Nikki Haley, all of whom have a track record of siding with Democrats. You know it’s really bad because election lawfare activist Marc Elias is pissed about the GOP handling their own affairs without the input of the government.

“Republicans will stop at nothing to instill doubt in the electoral process and disenfranchise voters, even their own,” an article on Elias’s Democrat Docket website reads. “The caucus and primary divide offers a tale of two elections. For those who participate in the state-run primary, voters are able to vote early and by mail, register to vote on Election Day and vote without a photo ID if the voter does not register on the same day. In stark contrast, the GOP caucus will not have early voting or allow for mail-in voting. Instead, the caucus will impose a strict photo ID requirement, and will likely require caucus goers to partake in an hours-long process.”

The choice couldn’t be more stark, and the fact that Haley is on the side of Nevada Democrats, Steve Sisolak, and Marc Elias should tell any waiverers just about everything they need to know about her and her campaign. So here’s what the Republican Primary ballot looks like, for Tuesday, February 6th, 2024:

SO?

In a craven attempt to confuse the situation, Haley will doubtless claim “victory” on Tuesday night. This, despite the fact that because the GOP is not formally involved, the “primary” is actually non-binding. In other words, even if she walks away the victor on Tuesday night, Haley will win precisely zero delegates. Instead, the delegates will be bound by the caucus, two days later, on Thursday.

It’s widely expected that Trump walks away from this process with all the delegates, unscathed in yet another state. But for those not paying super close attention, Haley will try and feign success within a 48-hour news cycle, pumping out e-mails, texts, and fundraisers claiming to have “won” in Nevada, while maintaining that her victory is being “stolen” from her by the “rigged” process.

Locals happen to be unimpressed with her ploy. Jim DeGraffenreid, of the state party, told ABC News he was “very surprised” about Haley picking the Democrat-endorsed primary, rather than the GOP caucus.

“I felt like she was still planning to be competitive,” DeGraffenreid said, adding, “I think I was most surprised that she chose to forego delegates here.”

So “see you next Tuesday,” Nimrata. But it won’t mean squat.