The GOP primary contest in Nevada on Tuesday ended on a cloudy note for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley as she practically lost even though she was the only candidate named on the ballot. Per Fox News, she secured way less votes than a “none of these candidates” option, which supporters of former President Donald Trump voted for.
Per POLITICO, the former U.N. ambassador trailed behind the “none of the these candidates” with a little over half of the votes counted. She had 32% of the votes with over two-thirds of the votes counted, while “none of these candidates” scored over 61% support.
Trump did not compete in the presidential primary, but opted for the party-run caucus which will be held Feb. 8. He had reportedly urged his supporters to ignore the primary and “just do the caucus thing.”
Haley’s embarrassing loss in the state came after she ignored the state, refusing to campaign there and dismissing the state party’s process as “rigged for Trump” after candidates who participated in the primary were prohibited from running in the caucus.
While laying down her next steps to her supporters after the New Hampshire primary last month, she totally ignored Nevada, saying that her hometown of South Carolina was next.
The presidential nominee-hopeful has reportedly not been to Nevada this year, as the last time she was pegged there was in October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference.
Her campaign has not hidden the fact that the state is not a priority for them, as campaign manager Betsy Ankney said on Monday that, “In terms of Nevada, we have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada. So Nevada is not and has never been our focus.”
But Haley’s dismissiveness toward the state did not stop Trump from making mockery of her loss.
In a post to Truth Social, he wrote, “A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to “None of These Candidates. Wach, she’ll soon claim Victory!”
Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita also took a swipe at Haley, asserting that she would suffer a similarly embarrassing loss in South Carolina.
“More embarrassment coming in South Carolina …the @NikkiHaley Delusional Tour continues,” he tweeted on X.
More embarrassment coming in South Carolina …the @NikkiHaley Delusional Tour continues https://t.co/eD2CjVWgmv
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) February 7, 2024
