West
Haley says 'we didn't even count' Nevada after losing primary without Trump on ballot; calls caucus 'rigged'
LOS ANGELES — Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley has her eyes on the next major contest in the GOP nominating calendar — the primary later this month in her home state of South Carolina, as well as on Super Tuesday in early March.
And Haley is downplaying this week’s primary and caucus in Nevada, saying they weren’t “anything we were looking at” and charging that the caucus is “rigged” for former President Donald Trump.
Haley made her comments Wednesday, one day after she lost by a more than two-to-one margin to the “none of these candidates” option in Nevada’s state-run GOP presidential primary. The contest was open only to registered Republican voters.
HALEY LOSES NEVADA REPUBLICAN PRIMARY WHERE TRUMP WASN’T ON THE BALLOT
Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump motions before speaking at a campaign event in Las Vegas on Jan. 27. (AP Photo/John Loche)
Trump, the commanding front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination as he bids a third straight time for the White House, was not on Tuesday’s ballot. And voters casting ballots in the state-run Republican nominating contest couldn’t write in Trump’s name, but they could vote for a “none of these candidates” option.
Trump supporters that Fox News spoke with at polling stations on primary day in Las Vegas said they were casting a ballot for “none of these candidates.”
While Haley’s name was on the ballot, the former two-term South Carolina governor who later served as U.N. ambassador in the Trump administration ignored the Nevada primary.
HALEY CAMPAIGN CHARGES NEVADA GOP CAUCUSES ‘RIGGED’
Haley didn’t campaign in Nevada ahead of the primary and hasn’t been in the state since speaking in late October at the Republican Jewish Coalition’s annual leadership conference.
“In terms of Nevada, we have not spent a dime nor an ounce of energy on Nevada,” Haley campaign manager Betsy Ankney told reporters on Monday. “So Nevada is not and has never been our focus.”
Haley, speaking Wednesday in separate interviews with Fox News Digital and with FOX 11 Los Angeles during stops in Southern California, emphasized that “we knew months ago that we weren’t going to spend a day or a dollar in Nevada, because it wasn’t worth it. And so we didn’t even count Nevada. That wasn’t anything we were looking at.”
Former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, signs autographs following a campaign rally at American Legion Hollywood Post 43, on Feb. 7, 2024 in Los Angeles, California (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Hours earlier, as the votes were being counted on Tuesday night, the former president took to his Truth Social network to take aim at Haley.
“A bad night for Nikki Haley. Losing by almost 30 points in Nevada to “None of These Candidates.” Watch, she’ll soon claim Victory!” he argued.
And Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita charged: “More embarrassment coming in South Carolina …the @NikkiHaley Delusional Tour continues,’ he claimed in a social media post.
BIDEN HITS THE JACKPOT IN NEVADA’S DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL PRIMARY
While Trump wasn’t on the primary ballot, his name will be listed on Thursday in a presidential caucus being run by the Nevada GOP.
The confusion over having two competing contests dates to 2021, when Democrats, who at the time controlled both Nevada’s governor’s office and the legislature, passed a law changing the presidential nominating contest from long-held caucuses to a state-run primary.
The Nevada GOP objected, but last year their legal bid to stop the primary from going forward was rejected. In a twist, the judge in the case allowed the state Republicans to hold their own caucuses, where all 26 delegates will be up for grabs.
A voting sign is seen outside a polling station in Las Vegas on Tuesday as Nevada holds its presidential primary. (Fox News – Monica Oroz )
The state GOP ruled that candidates who put their name on the state-run primary ballot could not take part in the caucuses.
Haley and some of the other now-departed Republican presidential candidates viewed the Nevada GOP as too loyal to Trump and decided to skip a caucus they believed was tipped in favor of the former president.
Nevada GOP chair Michael McDonald and both of the state’s members of the Republican National Committee are supporting Trump.
WHAT NIKKI HALEY TOLD FOX DIGITAL ABOUT WHAT SHE NEEDS TO DO TO KEEP RUNNING
“We made the decision early on that we were not going to pay $55,000 to a Trump entity that, you know, to participate in a process that was rigged for Trump,” Ankney argued on Monday.
And Haley on Wednesday charged that “Nevada – it’s such a scam. They were supposed to have a primary. Trump rigged it so the GOP chairman – who’s been indicted – would go and create a caucus.”
“We knew that it was rigged from the start,” Haley argued in her Fox News interview.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley waves to the crowd during a campaign event at New Realm Brewing Co. in Charleston, South Carolina, on Sunday. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
McDonald, responding, claimed that Haley “is not a real serious candidate.”
“The fact of the matter is she didn’t show up. She did not campaign in Nevada and neither did ‘none of the above’ and ‘none of the above’ won,” the Nevada GOP chair told Fox News Digital.
Haley, looking ahead, reiterated that “our focus is on South Carolina, Michigan, Super Tuesday.”
Michigan holds its primary on Tuesday, Feb. 27, three days after the South Carolina Republican primary. Fifteen states, including the behemoths of California and Texas, hold contests a week later, on Super Tuesday.
Former U.N. ambassador and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican presidential candidate, holds a campaign rally at American Legion Hollywood Post 43, on Feb. 7, 2024 in Los Angeles, California (Fox News – Paul Steinhauser)
Haley’s two campaign stops on Wednesday in California were her first to date in any of the Super Tuesday states. And the swing to the Golden State appears in part to be a marker for Haley as she pushes back against calls by some Republicans to drop out of the race and give up her uphill climb for the nomination.
The trip also included a series of fundraisers. And as Fox News Digital first reported on Wednesday, Haley hauled in $1.7 million in fundraising during her two days in California.
Get the latest updates from the 2024 campaign trail, exclusive interviews and more at our Fox News Digital election hub.
Read the full article from Here
West
FBI raid involving LA schools superintendent possibly tied to failed $6M AI deal, potential conflict
NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
The federal investigation into the Los Angeles Unified School District superintendent, whose home and school office were raided Wednesday, may be tied to a failed multimillion-dollar AI school contract involving a potential conflict of interest.
Alberto Carvalho previously awarded a $6 million contract, paying $3 million up front, to education technology company AllHere.
A former salesperson employed by the firm also had her Miami property raided the same day as Carvalho, according to public records cited by the Los Angeles Times. The woman, Debra Kerr, reportedly had close ties to Carvalho during his tenure leading Miami-Dade County Public Schools.
Spokesperson Jim Marshall confirmed to local media Miami Herald that “we searched a residence in Southwest Ranches today as part of this matter and have since cleared the scene.”
Superintendent Alberto Carvalho speaks during an event at the LAUSD headquarters in downtown Los Angeles on October 30, 2025. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
In 2023, Carvalho secured a contract with AllHere to develop an AI chatbot called “Ed,” designed to help address student issues such as absenteeism.
It ultimately collapsed in 2024 after its founder, Joanna Smith-Griffi, was accused of embezzling funds amid data privacy risks and whistleblower concerns. She was later charged with securities fraud, wire fraud and identity theft.
Kerr further claimed in AllHere’s bankruptcy court filings that the company owed her commissions for helping secure its deal with LAUSD, according to education-focused outlet The 74.
While federal officials confirmed that search warrants were conducted Wednesday, they declined to reveal the nature of the investigation, noting that the warrants remain under seal.
Federal officials appear to carry cardboard outside a home in California. (KTTV)
However, sources told the LA Times that the investigation fell under the broad category of financial issues, and that the raid focused on Carvalho rather than the California school district.
MAINE ‘MAMA BEAR’ FACING THREATS AS PARENTS BATTLE TO KEEP 8-YEAR-OLD BOY OFF GIRLS’ BASKETBALL TEAM
LAUSD released a statement saying the district is fully cooperating with federal officials.
“The LAUSD Board of Education understands that today’s news has raised questions across our school communities,” it said.
“The Board’s priority remains ensuring that our students, families, and employees experience a safe and welcoming learning environment. Teaching and learning continue across our schools. Los Angeles Unified continues to stay focused on our responsibility to serve students and our families.”
The superintendent has led the nation’s second-largest school district since 2022, overseeing the education of roughly 400,000 students. He was also unanimously reappointed to the position in September 2025.
Before moving to California, he spent 14 years leading Miami‑Dade County Public Schools, the nation’s fourth-largest school district.
The home of Alberto Carvalho, the superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, is located in San Pedro, California. (KTTV)
Wednesday’s raids mark the latest controversy to engulf Carvalho.
In 2020, he helped secure a $1.57 million donation from a company that had a pending contract with the district, the Miami Herald reported.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
FBI agents appear to conduct a search warrant at a San Pedro home connected to Alberto Carvalho. (KTTV)
The funds reportedly went to an education nonprofit he founded, and the company’s online learning program, which was ultimately plagued with problems, was quickly scrapped.
In June 2021, the school’s inspector general determined that the donation, intended to benefit teachers, did not violate any policies but created the “appearance of impropriety,” the outlet said. The foundation was subsequently urged to return the funds, which reportedly had been distributed to teachers as $100 gift certificates.
Read the full article from Here
San Francisco, CA
Sunset Night Market makes official return to San Francisco
Watch CBS News
Denver, CO
Tempers flare during another tightly contested matchup between Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder
-
World2 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts3 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Montana1 week ago2026 MHSA Montana Wrestling State Championship Brackets And Results – FloWrestling
-
Louisiana5 days agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Denver, CO3 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT