Washington [US], February 8: Even though former US President Donald Trump was not on the candidate list in the primary election in Nevada, his supporters still voted to oppose Nikki Haley.
Ms. Haley is Mr. Trump 's only opponent in the competition to represent the Republican Party for president this year. She is also the only candidate on the ballot in Nevada.
However, the vote counting results announced on February 7 showed that nearly 44,000 voters chose "not to vote for any of these candidates". This number is more than double the number of people supporting Ms. Haley, according to Fox News.
Mr. Trump and those close to his campaign all said he did not call on voters to do this, but instead should focus on the secret ballot taking place today (February 8).
American states often hold caucuses or primary votes to choose candidates to represent the party to run for election. However, Nevada chooses both forms.
Nevada Republican Party members and strategists said on February 7 that this was a major defeat for the former United Nations ambassador and a strong sign of the commitment of loyal voters to former President Trump.
"Everyone knows Trump supporters are loyal people," Republican strategist John Ashbrook, who is not affiliated with any campaign this year, told Reuters. However, the Nevada primary demonstrated that they also have incredible voting momentum."
Nevada Governor Joe Lombardo, who supports Mr. Trump, also said he chose "not to vote for any of these candidates", and will then support Mr. Trump in the Nevada secret ballot. Ms. Haley will not participate in this election.
Mr. Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, was not named in the public vote on February 6. Some voters also said they came to the decision to vote against Ms. Haley on their own, without direction from Nevada party officials or Mr. Trump's campaign.
Ms. Haley's campaign team denied her defeat in the Nevada primary, saying she would continue her competition with Mr. Trump.
Haley's camp also downplayed the significance of this week's Nevada primary and caucuses, saying they weren't "anything we're looking at." She alleged that the caucus was a "fraud" on former President Trump.
Haley has been focused on winning her home state of South Carolina, where she served as governor for six years. However, polls show Mr. Trump leading ahead of the primary election on February 24.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper