Nevada Republican Party Implements Favorable Rules for Trump's Victory in Presidential Caucu

The Nevada Republican Party has approved new rules for their presidential caucus, leading many campaigns to suspect that they are designed to favor former President Donald Trump in winning the state's GOP delegates. The rules include barring any candidate from the February 8 caucus if they participate in the state-run primary two days earlier, as well as restricting super PACs from influencing the caucus. The decision was made during a closed-door meeting of the party's central committee, and two anonymous sources confirmed the result to The Associated Press. These rules reflect Trump's influence on many state parties and his stronghold as the frontrunner, especially in Nevada, where the state GOP is led by allies of the former president.

The Nevada Republican Party has been persistent in holding a caucus, despite a state law passed in 2021 that requires a presidential primary if at least two candidates are on the ballot. However, the results of the state-run primary on February 6 are unlikely to impact the allocation of delegates, as the state party refuses to utilize them for this purpose. The national Republican Party generally allows state parties to determine how delegates are awarded.

The caucuses in Nevada call for voter ID, paper ballots, and same-day voting, while the state's election laws, used in the primary, require universal mail-in ballots, early voting, same-day registration, and an ID to register to vote, but not at the polls. This could potentially lead to confusion among Republican voters if two nominating processes occur within a three-day period. Other state Republican parties have also made rule changes to benefit frontrunners, including Trump, by adding more winner-take-all contests and requiring candidates to earn higher percentages of the vote to claim any delegates.

Trump has met with party chairs in several states, including Nevada, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Florida, and New Jersey, to discuss these changes. In response to the proposed rule changes, the Nevada Republican Club, representing approximately 400 members in the state, sent a letter urging GOP officials to speak out against the potential problems arising from having both a primary and a caucus. The party chair, Michael McDonald, who served as a fake elector for Trump in 2020, explained that the decision to push for the caucus was due to Democrats in the state Legislature failing to address Republican Governor Joe Lombardo's election integrity measures, particularly voter ID.

Jim DeGraffenreid, a Republican National Committeeman for the Nevada GOP, dismissed claims that the process is skewed for Trump, citing the former president's polling and fundraising strength. He emphasized that it was not in their interest to rig anything, especially for someone who apparently doesn't need it.