By Mark Murray, Ben Kamisar, Bridget Bowman and Alexandra Marquez -
NBC News
How strange would it be if the two Republican presidential candidates competed in two different races in the same state on two different dates?
And what if Republican voters could participate in
both
races?
That's what will happen in Nevada next week: Former President Donald Trump will compete in the Republican caucuses on February 8 (which will award delegates for the presidential nomination), but not in the primaries that will occur two days before, on February 6, where former UN ambassador Nikki Haley will be on the ballot (although they will not award delegates).
Former President Donald Trump at a campaign event on January 27, 2024, in Las Vegas.John Locher / AP
How did you get here?
As part of the Democratic Party's push to reorganize its calendar, Nevada's Democratic-led state government enacted a law in June 2021 requiring the state to hold a primary and not its usual caucuses.
Democrats like Senator Harry Reid believe that the primary system promotes greater participation.
But the state Republican Party, controlled by Trump allies, rejected that Democratic effort and decided that its elections would be held.
caucus – a tradition that is 40 years old – on February 8: so
that is the only race that the National Republican Party has recognized to award delegates.
[Biden and Trump win New Hampshire Democratic and Republican primaries]
What is expected to happen?
What is expected, in a nutshell, is that
Trump will win the vast majority
, if not all, of the 26 delegates
of the state.
He, in fact, has already declared himself the winner.
Many Haley voters, cited by The Hill, have expressed frustration that she is not on the ballot that counts.
However, the candidate has not focused her campaign on Nevada, but instead has focused her attention on the South Carolina primary.
Voters registered as Republicans participate in both races, except for one problem.
The state primaries will be open to registered Republicans (and those who register that day as Republicans).
And since Republican caucuses will not be governed by state law, there is no prohibition against voting in both, as long as the voter is registered as a Republican.
[Six states are reconsidering how they will conduct their primaries in 2024]
However, the state Republican Party announced Jan. 9 as the deadline for voters to change their registration to Republican so they can participate in caucuses.
So anyone who changes their party affiliation after that date will not be eligible to vote in the caucuses.