Nikki Haley loses Nevada Republican primary to "none of these candidates"
Former President Donald Trump was not on the ballot.
(Reuters)- US presidential candidate Nikki Haley suffered an embarrassing defeat in the Nevada Republican primary on Tuesday, coming in behind ballots marked "none of these candidates" by supporters of Donald Trump, according to Edison Research.
Haley, the last remaining opponent of Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, was the only major candidate to contest the party's primary in Nevada on Tuesday. Trump was not on the ballot.
US President Joe Biden easily won the Democratic primary in the state after dominating the first contest for his party's nomination in South Carolina on Saturday.
With more than 70% of the votes counted, Biden had 90% support. As the current president, he faces little opposition within his own party to run for reelection in a likely rematch in the general election with Trump in November.
The former president will secure all of Nevada's delegates in a caucus on Thursday, as he nears clinching the nomination after consecutive victories in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Trump did not compete in Tuesday's primary, which had no bearing on the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Haley will not be on the ballot in Thursday's caucus.
Republican voters had the option to mark "none of these candidates" on their ballots in Tuesday's primary, and Haley has angered Trump by refusing to drop out of the race for the party's nomination.
With more than two-thirds of Republican ballots counted, Haley had 32% of the vote, with "none of these candidates" coming in at 61%, according to Edison Research.
Thursday's Republican caucus is being run by the pro-Trump Nevada Republican Party, and with only the former president on the ballot, he is almost certain to win and secure all 26 of the state's delegates to the Republican National Convention in July, when the party will formally nominate its candidate.
Voters can participate in both the Republican primary on Tuesday and the Republican caucus on Thursday.
Joe Lombardo, the Republican governor of Nevada and a Trump supporter, had said he would vote for "neither of these candidates" on Tuesday and for Trump on Thursday.
The competing Republican contests are the result of a conflict between the state's Republican Party—led by Trump allies—and a 2021 state law mandating a primary.
During a visit to Nevada last week, Trump urged voters to skip Tuesday's primary and vote only in Thursday's caucus.
Haley has vowed to remain in the race for the Republican nomination and in a possible final contest in her home state of South Carolina on February 24, but she has no clear path to the nomination. She is far behind Trump in South Carolina, according to opinion polls.