Nevada Republicans brace for confusion as party eyes election rules that may favor Donald Trump

Once again, Donald Trump relies on antisemitic stereotypes. Image via AP.

Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald didn’t return multiple phone calls and text messages. He previously told the AP that the party pushed the caucus, which they have before, because the Democrat-controlled state Legislature would not pass a law requiring proof of identification at the ballot box, instead of just when registering to vote, among other measures.

The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a message seeking comment.

Jim DeGraffenreid, a Republican National Committeeman for the Nevada GOP, declined to discuss the proposals that the party was considering, referring to them as “housekeeping.” But he called the idea that Nevada’s process is skewed for Trump “one of the most ridiculous things that I think I’ve ever heard.”

“It appears that Donald Trump is the last person that needs a thumb on the scale,” DeGraffenreid said, citing the former president’s polling and fundraising strength. “It is not in our interest to rig anything for anyone, especially for someone who apparently doesn’t need to have anything rigged for him.”

Still, the dynamic is a reminder of how Trump is approaching the 2024 campaign far differently than his first bid in 2016. During his initial run as a political neophyte, Trump and his team had little understanding of state parties and the intricate — yet significant — role they play in shaping rules that govern how delegates are awarded to the eventual Republican nominee.

That’s not the case this time.

In Michigan, where the state GOP has become increasingly loyal to Trump, the party’s leadership this year voted to change the state’s longtime process of allocating all its presidential delegates based on an open primary election. Under a new plan widely expected to benefit Trump, 16 of the state’s 55 delegates will be awarded based on the results of a Feb. 27 primary. The other 39 will be distributed four days later in closed-door caucus meetings of party activists.

In Idaho, one of the country’s most Republican states, a new law passed by the state legislature earlier this year eliminated the presidential primary process by moving the state elections to May as lawmakers tried to consolidate the voting calendar. The party’s state central committee decided to instead hold caucuses on March 2.

Trump’s ties to the Nevada GOP are especially deep, with the organization led by longstanding allies, including McDonald and DeGraffenreid. Both served as fake presidential electors in 2020 as part of a scheme in Nevada and other battleground states to try to overturn Trump’s election loss. The party’s executive director, Alida Benson, left that job this summer to run Trump’s campaign in the state.

With Trump seeming to have such a heavy advantage in the caucus, some Republicans have speculated that other GOP presidential candidates might forgo trying to win the state’s relatively small number of GOP delegates, instead opting to run in the primary.

So far, Vivek Ramaswamy is the only presidential candidate to officially file for the caucus, though Trump is expected to join him.

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley’s campaign did not respond to questions about Nevada and representatives for South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and former Vice President Mike Pence declined to say whether they’ll try to run in one or both processes in Nevada, which is scheduled to vote third, after Iowa and New Hampshire.

“We’re exploring all options in Nevada to best position Ron DeSantis to be the next president,” DeSantis’ Communications Director Andrew Romeo said in a statement.

Never Back Down, which was organizing support for DeSantis, pulled its door-knockers from Nevada and other states — a move that Cuccinelli said was prompted in Nevada because of the GOP’s plans. The party’s proposed rules would bar the super PAC’s employees from attending any caucuses, conventions or local precinct meetings, bar them from obtaining lists of caucus attendees and bar them from handing out pamphlets outside of meetings, among other restrictions.

“If he’s going to keep putting his thumb on the scale and then put his arm on the scale and then climb on the frickin’ scale,” Cuccinelli said of Trump, “You know, does it really make sense to pour resources into an uphill, unfair fight like that versus other states?”

David Gibbs, president of the Nevada Republican Club, said he’s not concerned about criticism that the process could favor Trump. He worried, however, that the dueling election processes could disenfranchise voters — especially those who may wonder why all of the major candidates aren’t on their ballot when it’s time to vote.

“I like caucuses. I actually prefer caucus to a primary election,” he said. “But doing both is not good. And that’s what we face right now.”

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Republished with permission from The Associated Press.