Due to the fact that the Nevada GOP is holding both a primary (which Trump did not run in) and a caucus, Nikki Haley was essentially the only candidate on the ballot yesterday (the others on the ballot have either already dropped out, like Pence and Scott, or are essentially unknowns).
And she came in second anyway (source):
Nevada is, if memory serves, the only state that allows this option on the ballot. Were this an actual election to hold office, I believe that Haley would still have “won” as I do not think that “none of these candidates” is binding in the sense that it would cause a new election. No delegates were at stake (they are to be awarded in the caucus), so it is all moot anyway. But it was never about the delegates as much as it was about being able to claim a win.
What we have here is an amusing example for future use in class, paper, or media story about this unusual aspect of Neveda’s electoral process.
What we also have here is a devastatingly embarrassing outcome for Haley, as I have little doubt there was some hope of trying to parlay a “win” out of the contest last night so as to pretend a little longer that her candidacy was viable.
As I have noted in passing a number of times, Trump will be the nominee barring a dramatic legal or health-related incident. And at this stage, I am not sure that a legal event will prevent him from being nominated.
