Nevada

Why Nevada has both a primary election and Republican caucus next week

Published

2 years ago

February 1, 2024

Why Nevada has both a primary election and Republican caucus next week

One of the more unusual presidential contests will take place in Nevada next week when the state’s Republican Party holds a caucus on Feb. 8 — just two days after the state has its primary election.

The reason there will be two contests next week is because Republicans in the state aren’t happy with somewhat-recent changes to Nevada election laws.

In 2021, the state’s Democratic governor at the time, Steve Sisolak, signed a slew of bills into law creating all-mail elections, expanding voter registration and moving the state-run presidential contest to a primary.

A caucus is a more restrictive voting system than a primary. A caucus requires voters to show up on a specific day at a specific time to cast a ballot, which can make it harder for shift workers and people with small children, for example, to vote. That small voting window can also make caucus turnout pretty unpredictable.

Nevada Democrats, in particular, began urging state lawmakers to move away from its caucus system to a primary system after the 2020 election. Voting access and higher voter participation were key arguments behind the effort.

Once the effort was successful, Republicans in the state began pushing back.

At first, the party filed a lawsuit arguing that the state’s new laws infringed on its right to decide how to choose and bind the party’s delegates in a presidential nominating contest. A court eventually found that the party would be unlikely to stop the state from moving to a primary system. It also ruled, though, that the party couldn’t be bound by the state’s laws when it comes to how it picks delegates.

So the Nevada GOP decided to drop the lawsuit and set up its own caucus to choose delegates. While Nevada holds its primaries on Feb. 6, the GOP caucus will be held Feb. 8.

The Nevada Republican Party said in a statement it was affirming “its commitment to transparent elections with common-sense safeguards such as Voter ID, paper ballots, and precinct-based balloting” in its caucus.

And as part of the party’s “protest” of the state-run primaries, members also made a rule that any presidential candidate participating in the primary cannot run in the caucus and is therefore unable to win any Nevada delegates for the presidential nomination. This is why former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will appear on the GOP presidential primary ballot, but won’t be on the caucus ballot.

Only former President Donald Trump and Texas businessman Ryan Binkley, who’s mounting a longshot bid, remain on the ballot in the Nevada GOP caucus — a setup that all but ensures Trump wins the delegate haul. (The state Republican chair has told people to caucus for Trump.)

“This protest is designed to ensure no Republican candidates for President register for the state run election,” party officials said in a statement, “negating the need for the same and saving the State of Nevada millions of taxpayer dollars.”

Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images

AFP via Getty Images

Nevada Republican Party Chair Michael J. McDonald speaks at a Trump rally Saturday in Las Vegas.

But this protest from the GOP has left its voters with a confusing pair of elections to vote in.

A spokesperson for the Nevada secretary of state’s office said they have been hearing from voters who have questions about the primary and caucus.

“It’s been a top issue we’ve received questions on in the last month,” the spokesperson told NPR in a statement. “Specifically, we are receiving questions about why former President Trump is not on the primary ballot.”

The secretary’s office has said they are directing voters to the Nevada Republican Party when they have questions about the caucus.

And party officials have been defending their move.

“The caucus is the traditional way we have chosen our presidential nominee for decades,” the party says on aninformation sheet for its voters. “Contrary to reports that the NVGOP is trying to confuse Nevada Republican voters, the truth is that the 2024 primary is an all new, very expensive, and meaningless process.”

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Nevada

Red Flag Warning issued for heightened fire danger in Southern Nevada

Published

9 hours ago

June 8, 2026

Press Room

Red Flag Warning issued for heightened fire danger in Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — We’ll start the week with a heightened fire danger with dangerous heat later this week.

TODAY

Expect mostly sunny skies with winds picking up again on Monday. High temperatures will reach 98 degrees in Las Vegas with south winds 10-20 mph and wind gusts up to 30 mph.

A RED FLAG WARNING is in place from 10am to 9pm Monday for gusty winds and dry weather, so if a fire started, it would spread quickly.

Winds are estimated to be 20-25 mph with gusts around 40 mph at times with relative humidity of 5%-15%.

Air quality is ranked ‘good’ to ‘moderate’ for dust and tree pollen. The most common pollens are juniper, cedar, willow, sycamore and palm.

TONIGHT

We’ll see variable clouds this evening with skies going from mostly cloudy to mostly clear overnight.

Wind gusts will pick up again before midnight with gusts 30-40 mph possible downslope of the Spring Mountains in the west valley.

Elsewhere, gusts will be 20-30 mph. Breezes will eventually back down to 5-15 mph overnight. Valley lows will drop to around 74 degrees.

WHAT’S NEXT

We have reached 109 consecutive days without measurable rain in Las Vegas.

No rain is in sight, but for perspective, June is the driest month of the year in Las Vegas. Fingers crossed on a hopefully more active monsoon season!

High pressure builds next with highs 5-10 degrees above normal. Temperatures will reach around 108 degrees in Las Vegas by Friday. The last time we hit a high temperature of 108 degrees was back on August 20th of last year.

Not much relief is in sight by the weekend with highs around 107 degrees and temps at or above 105-106 degrees NEXT Monday through Wednesday.

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Nevada

DNA Doe Project unlocks cold case in Nevada

Published

19 hours ago

June 8, 2026

Press Room

DNA Doe Project unlocks cold case in Nevada

Growing DNA databases continue to unlock decades-old cold cases. How the DNA Doe Project helped to identify remains 37 years later.

Posted
6/8/2026, 2:51:05 AM

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Nevada

Meet the 2026 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada boys volleyball team

Published

1 day ago

June 7, 2026

Press Room

Meet the 2026 Nevada Preps All-Southern Nevada boys volleyball team

First team

Ty Ahlstrom, Centennial – The junior had 373 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state libero for the 5A state runner-up.

Evan Ditmar, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state outside hitter had 187 kills with a .328 hitting percentage.

Luke Hashimoto, Arbor View – The senior had 302 digs and 37 aces for the 5A state champion.

Porter Hughes, Basic – The senior had 373 kills with 218 digs and 38 aces for the 5A state semifinalist.

Lincoln Larson, Centennial – The senior was the 5A state player of the year and was second in the state with 460 kills, on a .371 hitting percentage, and added 283 digs and 72 aces for the 5A state runner-up.

Jagger Mendenhall, Palo Verde – The senior first-team 5A all-state setter had 414 assists.

Risden Miller, Arbor View – The junior led the 5A state champion with 279 kills and added 173 digs.

RJ Regalado, Centennial – The senior had 723 assists and was a first-team 5A all-state.

Max Romzek, Shadow Ridge – The junior had 152 kills on a .437 hitting percentage with 66 blocks for the 5A state semifinalist.

Mateo Salomon, Shadow Ridge – The sophomore had 169 kills with a .374 hitting percentage for the 5A state semifinalist.

Keagan Sugden, Arbor View – The junior setter led the state with 1,129 assists for the 5A state champion.

Mau Tuiaana, Centennial – The senior had 162 kills on a .397 hitting percentage, 92 blocks and 147 digs for the 5A state runner-up.

Kenyon Wickliffe, Arbor View – The senior had a .477 hitting percentage with 176 kills and 46 blocks for the 5A state champion. He is committed to Cal State Northridge.

Jacob Wienke, Desert Oasis – The senior was the 4A Mountain League player of the year led the Diamondbacks with 290 kills and 154 digs on their way to the 4A state title.

Coach of the year

Nicole Adarme, Arbor View – Guided the Aggies to the Class 5A state title, the program’s first boys volleyball title.

Second team

Graham Blanchard, Arbor View – The senior had 179 kills, 32 aces and 136 digs for the 5A state champion.

Zelworth Chavis, Liberty – The 4A Lake League player of the year had 731 assists and 64 aces for the 4A state semifinalist.

Zavier Coleman, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 139 kills and 136 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.

Andrew Gutierrez, Palo Verde – The junior had 153 kills 35 aces and was a first-team 5A all-state outside hitter.

Ty Hardy, Basic – The senior had 274 kills and 257 digs for the 5A state semifinalist.

Ty Harper, Shadow Ridge – The senior had 211 digs and was a first-team 5A all-state selection for the 5A state semifinalist.

Kaleb Law, Mojave – The senior was the 4A Sky League player of the year and was second in the state with 436 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 69 blocks, 55 aces and 249 digs to help the Rattlers reach the 4A state semifinals.

Oakland Liugalua, Cadence — The freshman had 406 kills on a .396 hitting percentage with 154 digs and 57 aces.

Gavin McColl, Centennial – The senior had 154 kills on a .333 hitting percentage with 94 blocks for the 5A state runner-up.

Brad Rappleye, Sky Pointe – The junior was the 4A Desert League player of the year and had 187 kills and 78 blocks to help the Eagles reach the 4A state title game.

Levi Randall, Boulder City – The junior had 149 kills with a .477 hitting percentage and 92 blocks for the 3A state champion.

Yeheshua Ruiz, Foothill – The senior had 157 kills with a .426 hitting percentage with 70 blocks and was a first-team 5A all-state selection.

Preston Van Beveren, Boulder City – The senior had 137 kills on a .457 hitting percentage with 99 blocks, 27 aces and 141 digs for the 3A state champion.

David Zwahlen, Boulder City – The 3A state player of the year had 232 kills with a .364 hitting percentage, with 337 digs and 70 aces.