Haley
© Mark Rightmire/The Orange County Register/APRepublican presidential candidate Nikki Haley at a campaign stop at the Wild Goose Tavern in Costa Mesa, California • Feb. 7, 2024
The campaign of former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley explained away a disappointing finish in the Nevada primary on Tuesday, noting that she had not spent an "ounce of energy" in the state.

But Republican supporters of Donald Trump say Haley never had a chance, with the former president poised to be awarded Nevada's delegates in the GOP caucuses Thursday night.

Trump is expected to dominate the contest, in which he and relatively unknown candidate Ryan Binkley are the only options for voters. Haley won't be on the ballot, as her campaign claimed the race was "rigged" for Trump.

The state's 26 Republican delegates are apportioned solely by the caucuses and not the state-run primary that took place Tuesday.

"I travel Nevada pretty regularly, and this is Trump country here," Nevada Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony said.

In fact, he didn't recall any Republicans being upset by her choice to ignore the state, saying, "The people that I talked to are all supporting Trump, and they've been supporting him for a while."

Jenann Logan, second vice president of the Republican Women of Las Vegas, similarly hadn't heard concern over Haley's absence. Logan said she has "always" been a Trump supporter.

Haley's strategic decision to participate in the primary rather than the caucuses backfired, delivering her a loss in the contest Tuesday. "None of these candidates" [category] received more than double the support Haley did, 63.3% to her 30.5%.

"I just don't think she can do the job," said one woman, who selected "none of these candidates" in the primary and also plans to caucus for Trump. "She's a 'forever war' person."

Logan voted the same way in the primary and will caucus for Trump as well. She explained her vote was to make sure Haley did not have "bragging rights for winning the primary."

Ahead of the contest, Haley's campaign manager, Betsy Ankney, prefaced any results, noting:
"We have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada.

"We aren't going to pay $55,000 to a Trump entity to participate in a process that is rigged for Trump. Nevada is not and has never been our focus. I'm truly not sure what the Trump team is up to out there, but they seem pretty spun up about it."
The Nevada GOP caucuses are run by the state party, whose chairman is Michael McDonald. He was notably one of the six Republican electors indicted last year for their efforts to overturn Nevada's 2020 election results and certify the state for Trump.

As Ankney noted, Haley did not spend any time in Nevada leading up to the primaries or the caucuses.

This partially fueled Republican nurse Amy Wood's choice to vote in the primary. She said:
"I wanted to make a statement that Nevada is important. People that live here in the state need to be aware of who they're voting for for president. If we're not a concern, why would you vote for her?"
However, not everyone was united against the former ambassador. Nevada Republican Club member Maura Bivens voted in Haley's favor. But even Bivens didn't do so because she supports Haley per se:
"I wanted to vote against Trump. And that's the only way I can choose. I really voted for Nikki Haley just to make a statement. I liked her — don't love her."