Jim Hartman: Nevada GOP’s presidential nominating mess

Nevada Republicans are in for a mess in February when it becomes time to choose the GOP presidential candidate. Voters are certain to be confused.

Nevada will have two GOP contests, a primary and a caucus election, scheduled two days apart.

State law dictates there will be a presidential primary on Feb. 6, but Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald insisted on holding a presidential caucus Feb. 8.

The Nevada GOP sued to block the primary but lost in court. So both primary and caucus elections will be held.

Ironically, McDonald favored switching to a primary in 2016.

In reality, the Nevada GOP is the Donald Trump campaign in the state. McDonald is a longtime Trump loyalist and Nevada 2020 “fake elector.”

A tightly-controlled caucus with limited participation advantages Trump. An open primary with vastly more Republican voters involved would result in a less certain outcome.

Delegates to the Republican National Convention will be decided by the results of the caucus, not the primary. That means the primary will be a “beauty contest” – with no meaning.

Republican voters wishing to have a say in who goes to the national convention and which candidate gets their support will have to show-up in person on Feb. 8 at 5 p.m. at locations not yet determined.

Republican voters who participate in the primary “beauty contest” will be able to vote at any time on Feb. 6 at any regular polling location. They’ll also be able to vote early or by mail.

At a Sept. 23 meeting in Winnemucca closed to the press, the Nevada GOP adopted a rule that any presidential candidate who put their name on the state-run primary ballot would be prohibited from participating in the party caucus election and ineligible to be awarded any national convention delegates.

Another rule requires a $55,000 fee to be paid to the Nevada GOP by each presidential candidate registering for the caucus. Without money to conduct the caucus, the Nevada GOP wants the candidates to help finance it.

The Nevada GOP is spending money and time trying to organize a completely unnecessary caucus.

The caucus and the primary will feature different candidates. Donald Trump fans won’t be happy when they receive a mail ballot without his name on it.

Candidate filings for Nevada’s GOP presidential nominating contests closed Oct. 16.

Former President Trump filed for the party-operated caucus on Feb. 8 along with five others, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and pastor Ryan Binkley.

But two days before the caucus, three major GOP presidential hopefuls – former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) – will appear on the state-run Feb. 6 primary ballot (along with four long shot presidential hopefuls).

The decision by Haley, Pence and Scott to skip the caucus means not winning any Nevada delegates but gives them a chance to win an early statewide preference election.

What’s certain: The winner of the Feb. 6 primary will be different from the Feb. 8 caucus winner. It’s a mess.

This confusing process is intended to benefit Trump , the favored candidate of McDonald and Nevada GOP leaders. Rules adopted prevent the superPAC supporting DeSantis from participating in the caucus. There’s no level playing field – it’s rigged for Trump.

Nevada holds the third earliest contest on the Republican calendar and should be having frequent visits from presidential candidates. But, the primary-caucus debacle has left Nevada ignored.

It’s a huge missed opportunity. Interest in a presidential contest could be used to increase involvement in the Nevada GOP – and boost registration.

Instead, this fiasco highlights the ineptitude of the Nevada GOP and the reason for disastrous results in the last four election cycles.

E-mail Jim Hartman at lawdocman1@aol.com.