Nevada

Trump Isn’t on Nevada’s Primary Ballot. He May Still Win the Caucus.

Published

2 years ago

January 19, 2024

Press Room

Trump Isn’t on Nevada’s Primary Ballot. He May Still Win the Caucus.

January 19, 2024

Confused? So are Nevada voters.

A supporter wears socks depicting former president Donald Trump before he arrives to speak at a “commit to caucus” event held at the Reno-Sparks convention center on Sunday, December 17, 2023, in Reno, Nev.

(Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images)

This past Monday, a tiny group of old, white, conservative evangelical Christian men in Iowa effectively anointed Trump the winner of the Republican caucus and primary season.

The headlines blared about Trump’s landslide victory—and it’s true that he won more than 50 percent of the vote and 98 of the state’s 99 counties. But it’s also true that turnout was abysmally low, even by Iowa caucus standards. This was, of course, hardly a surprise given an Arctic windchill that could have frozen the feet off of a polar bear, and given that, for weeks, the media had presented the result as a foregone conclusion. Why turn up for a futile vote against a criminal candidate-on-a-roll if it means you’re going to risk frostbite and, at the end of the day, achieve nothing more than pissing off your Trump-loving neighbors? In a state with 3 million residents, about 2.5 million of whom are of voting age, only 110,000 people caucused, and of those only slightly more than half cast their vote for Trump. In other words, about one in 40 of the state’s potential voters cast their lot with Trump in the caucus—yet, because of the bizarro nature of American politics and the crass horse race coverage generated by so much of the media, those few tens of thousands of ultraconservative, MAGA-loving Iowans have set the tone for the entire presidential race to come.

Turnout in New Hampshire’s primary next week will almost certainly be far higher. In February 2020, roughly 260,000 Granite State residents voted in the state’s Democratic contest. Given that the state has a population of less than half of that of Iowa, that implies a participation rate in the New Hampshire primary about five times higher than in the Iowa caucus. That’s hardly a surprise. After all, in a primary, you simply have to cast a ballot; you don’t have to devote an afternoon or evening to debating, or being berated by, your fellow citizens about who the best, or least worst, candidate might be.

It’s possible that Nikki Haley will manage to turn the corner and win enough votes in New Hampshire’s primary to (a) make it a genuine mano a mano race between her and The Donald; and (b) dent Trump’s image of inevitability enough that future races will become more competitive. But, realistically, it’s unlikely. The latest post-Iowa poll shows her trailing by 16 points.

Which brings us to Nevada, the third state on the nominating calendar, and one that will offer voters both a primary and a caucus.

If you think that’s confusing, you’re right.

Current Issue

Cover of December 25, 2023/January 1, 2024, Issue

Historically, the Silver State has had only an early-season caucus, which, like all caucuses, suffered from low voter turnout, and, with its byzantine rules, regularly descended into chaos. In 2016, a mere 75,000 voters took part in the state’s GOP caucus. And in 2016 and 2020, the Democratic caucuses were bedeviled both by low turnout and by rampant confusion over the caucus process. In 2021, with a growing chorus of Democrats calling for an overhaul of the system, the Democratic-controlled state legislature voted to implement a primary system in the state in an effort to expand the pool of participants. It allows for same-day voter registration, two weeks of early polling, mail-in voting, and the ability to change one’s party registration all the way up to the day of the election.

That might have been that, except for the fact that a MAGA-controlled state GOP—the chair of which, Michael McDonald, is currently under indictment for having been a false elector after the 2020 election—concluded that the caucus format benefited Trump. The party decided to stick with a 90-minute caucus, in which voters have to present IDs in order to participate, and which barred same-day voter registration. Not only that, it forced candidates to choose between running in the state-mandated primary and competing in the party-supported caucus (and required candidates to pony up $50,000 in order to participate in the caucus). It also announced that selection of the state’s delegates to the nominating convention would be based only on the outcome of the caucus, which would be held on February 8, two days after the state-mandated primary. In other words, even if more people end up participating in the primary, the only votes that matter in this contest are those cast on caucus day.

The result is sheer confusion: Trump, DeSantis, Ramaswamy, and a few other candidates opted for the caucus. Nikki Haley, Tim Scott, Mike Pence, and a few others chose to participate in the primary instead. Given that most of the candidates have already dropped out of the race, Trump’s only caucus opposition is the increasingly ineffective DeSantis, who seems likely to perform a vanishing act in the February contest. Polling suggests that the MAGA leader, who has held several large rallies in Las Vegas and in Reno in recent months, will get upwards of three-quarters of the caucus vote and will take most, if not all, of the state’s 26 delegates. But, at the same time, Haley, all of whose primary opponents have now dropped out of the race, will run away with the primary—in which voters can participate simply by mailing back their ballot. It will be a largely hollow victory, guaranteeing her headlines but not a single delegate.

Primary ballots went out to voters a couple weeks ago, and the absence of Trump’s name, due to his having chosen to participate in the caucus instead, prompted a surge of angry responses from voters. It was, some of these low-information voters opined, proof of a conspiracy by the deep state to prevent people from voting for Trump. Others posted photos on X showing their ballots without Trump’s name and asked why he had been deliberately excluded. Some such posts went viral. Voters primed to outrage by years of Trump’s misinformation have called the candidate’s absence from the primary ballot “criminal” and have said it must not be allowed to stand.

“I think voters are confused,” Jon Ralston, CEO and editor of the Nevada Independent, and a doyen of political commentary in the state, told me, with perhaps more than a modicum of understatement. He also posited the notion that Haley might be wise to sacrifice the delegates in exchange for momentum-building headlines around her primary performance, in particular if she ends up with more votes than does Trump.

Nonpartisan voting rights groups such as All Voting Is Local, realizing that there is a sense of disenfranchisement among Nevada’s Republican voters, have begun devoting resources to explaining that Trump’s name not being on the primary ballot is a GOP choice rather than a decision made by state elections officials. “We were excited to go to the primary system, because the primary is much more accessible to voters,” explains AVIL Executive Director Kerry Durmick.

And that, of course, in the eyes of the Trumpified GOP, is its original sin. Trump performs best when obstacles are put in the path of voters, when cynicism is given free rein, and when opponents have to run a MAGA gauntlet before casting their ballots against him. The Iowa caucus showed exactly how this strategy played out. After a New Hampshire interlude, the farcical Nevada caucus, carefully designed to offer Trump’s opponents no possibility of peeling off delegates, is the upcoming second act in this coronation passion-play.

Submit a correction
Reprints & permissions

Sasha Abramsky

Sasha Abramsky, who writes regularly for The Nation, is the author of several books, including Inside Obama’s Brain, The American Way of Poverty, The House of 20,000 Books, Jumping at Shadows, and, most recently, Little Wonder: The Fabulous Story of Lottie Dod, the World’s First Female Sports Superstar. Subscribe to The Abramsky Report, a weekly, subscription-based political column, here.

High-profile Las Vegas attorney tapped to join Nevada Gaming Commission

Published

7 hours ago

April 8, 2026

Press Room

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Longtime Las Vegas attorney Richard Schonfeld will become the newest member of the Nevada Gaming Commission.

Gov. Joe Lombardo’s office announced Schonfeld’s appointment on Tuesday. He will join the commission on April 28, taking over for the outgoing Rosa Solis-Rainey.

A name partner of the law firm Chesnoff & Schonfeld, Richard Schonfeld has practiced law in Nevada for over 27 years.

He has worked in criminal law, representing many famous clients like Henry Ruggs III, Alvin Kamara, Marshawn Lynch and Dan Rodimer. He’s also served as outside corporate litigation counsel to several Las Vegas business entities.

In a statement, Lombardo said Schonfeld brings to the commission decades of legal experience and a strong understanding of Nevada’s business community.

“I am confident he will be a valuable addition to the Nevada Gaming Commission as it continues its important work safeguarding the integrity of our gaming industry,” the governor said.

Gaming commissioners serve four-year terms on a part-time basis. The Commission serves as the final authority on gaming licensing, discipline and other regulatory matters.

Source link

Nevada

With gas in Nevada topping $5 a gallon, e-bike sales surge for a Las Vegas business

Published

20 hours ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

With gas in Nevada topping a gallon, e-bike sales surge for a Las Vegas business

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Nevada drivers are feeling the sting at the pump as gas prices hover around the $5 mark, forcing some families in the Las Vegas area to make tough choices and pushing others to look for alternatives such as e-bikes.

According to AAA, the cost of a regular gallon of gas in Nevada is a little more than $5. In Las Vegas, the average is $5.05 a gallon.

In North Las Vegas, parents Cheliese Mossett and Avigail Puente stopped for gas near Lake Mead and Losee, where prices significantly under $5 a gallon are hard to come by.

“They need to go down. Absolutely. Right now,” Mossett said.

Puente said, “I do not know what crisis is going on but they should lower them.”

Maverik Station in North Las Vegas (KSNV)

Mossett, a medical courier who drives a minivan, said she can only spend $40 at a time and never quite fills her tank because she needs what is left to pay for her kids’ care. “It was already hard before. Now, it is getting ridiculous,” she said. Mossett also said it is time for the U.S. to pull out of Iran to drop prices back down.

Puente described weighing everyday purchases against the cost of fuel to get her child to school.

“I mean, it is over whether I want to buy my son a toy or a Happy Meal to where, well, those five or ten dollars could go in my car to get him to and from school so it is pretty outrageous,” Puente said.

7 Eleven Station in North Las Vegas (KSNV)

As some families struggle with fuel costs, an e-bike shop owner said he is seeing more customers trying to save money by riding instead of driving.

“We have had a big uptick in 20, 30, 40 year-olds that are looking to save money,” said Eric Olsen, owner of Epic E-Bike Adventures.

Olsen said he launched his business recently and has reported some of his best sales in the last month, which he tied to when the U.S. began its war with Iran. He said this month’s sales are 50% better than the month before. The bikes cost between $1,000 and $2,000.

Epic E-Bike Adventures (KSNV)

Olsen said his customer base has increased beyond retirees looking for recreational trail rides.

“We get a lot of people that are starting to use them for Uber Eats in that 20, 30, 40 year-old demographic,” Olsen said.

Olsen said he stopped using a car a few years ago and found the costs added up quickly.

“I was paying car payments, insurance, gas, maintenance all of it. Within a month its about the same price as a bike. Most of our bikes are below $2,000. Very low maintenance and so it is just a great alternative. I throw Uber in there if I am going out. And all around, I am saving 500-600 a month just riding my bike,” Olsen said.

Olsen said e-bikes are also drawing hospitality workers and others looking for a quick way to cut commuting costs. He said most of the bikes in his shop get about a 50- to 80-mile range, and described one rider’s commute between Boulder Station and Mandalay Bay.

“Most of our bikes get about a 50 to 80 mile range. So I know one guy yesterday was talking. He goes from Boulder Station to Mandalay Bay and back. And the battery will make it the full round trip. And he still has 20 to 30 percent on his battery,” Olsen said.

E-bikes may not work for everyone, particularly parents who need to pick up young children from school and may face challenges related to passenger seating and time.

Olsen said the bikes are street legal and max out at 28 miles per hour. He adds they come with a two-year warranty that covers just about everything except brakes and tires. Olsen also said his store will not repair e-bikes that have been modified to go faster.

Source link

Nevada

NSU flag football team’s undefeated inaugural season ends prematurely

Published

1 day ago

April 7, 2026

Press Room

NSU flag football team’s undefeated inaugural season ends prematurely

As a rule, first-year sports programs are not expected to be competitive. It can take time to build an administration, coaching staff and team capable of competing with the best.

Nevada State University’s fledgling flag football team threw that rule out the window this year.

The Scorpions just finished an undefeated inaugural season in which they won eight of 13 games by shutout while outscoring opponents by an average of 42 points. They built such a reputation that their final two opponents canceled games that would have been played this week.

“How our season has gone, teams don’t want to come out here to lose,” said coach Brandon Pappillion, who coached at Bishop Gorman before taking over at NSU. “It was very disappointing. One canceled, then the next day the other called to cancel.”

The Scorpions surprised opponents, but they did not surprise themselves.

“Going undefeated was our goal from the beginning,” Pappillion said.

But there were no playoff wins. Though the Scorpions have applied to join the NAIA next year, they were unaffiliated this season and were ineligible for postseason play. The NAIA is a similar to the NCAA but consists of many smaller and private universities.

Pappillion said he can wait, as he is confident he’ll have another dominant squad next year.

Easy to recruit

Unlike coaches of most first-year programs, Pappillion was able to recruit many of the top players in the country. He didn’t have to look very far, as Clark County has become the country’s hotbed for flag football talent. All 15 of his players came from Southern Nevada high schools.

Former Liberty standout Kaylie Phillips, a quarterback and defensive back, said she knew from the start that the team would be competitive in its first season.

“I knew we’d do really good, but to go undefeated with all the shutouts was the surprising part,” the freshman said. “But I never thought we’d lose, even in the close games.”

There weren’t many of those. The Scorpions defeated Arizona State 21-12 and Arizona Christian 28-26. The remainder of the victories could be classified as blowouts, including last month’s 83-0 trouncing of USC.

The Scorpions gained so much attention that Phillips and teammate Brooklin Hill recently were named to the 24-player US Women’s National Team roster. Training camp begins this month, with the IFAF World Championship scheduled for this summer in Germany.

Elite athletes

Hill, a former Desert Oasis standout, played her freshman season at the University of St. Mary in Kansas before returning home for her sophomore year. She said her homecoming has been a welcome step up.

“(St. Mary) was a good learning experience,” said Hill, who jumped on the offer to transfer to NSU’s first-year program. “I was able to get something out of it. But with the coaches and the players here, we have a winning culture and we believe we have to be the best.”

Pappillion said that culture did not come by accident.

“I think Nevada has the best talent across the country,” he said. “We’ve been doing this longer than anybody else because we were one of the first states to start flag football. We have a little advantage.”

If all goes as planned, the Scorpions will qualify for postseason play next year.

“The girls knew that this year was a chance to get their feet wet,” Pappillion said. “But they all want to play for a championship. That has always been their goal.”

Contact Jeff Wollard at jwollard@reviewjournal.com.

Source link