In RENO, Nevada – Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina, suffered a humiliating defeat on Tuesday as she went on to lose the Republican primary for president in Nevada to "none of these candidates."
Former President Donald Trump skipped the Nevada presidential preference primary and is projected to win the GOP-run caucuses Thursday night, making the loss inconsequential. His win will give him all 26 state delegates.
It's a significant loss for the former governor, who finished third in Iowa and second in New Hampshire and faces her home state's Feb. 24 Republican primary. With over two-thirds of the state's votes tabulated, "none" won 62% and she 32%.
As a result of their initial confusion over the reason why Trump was not included on their ballot, a handful of Republican voters stated that they voted for "none of these candidates" in order to show their support for the former president.
"I wanted Donald Trump to be on there," said Ron Stanley, 64, a truck driver, a Republican voter who personally delivered a ballot in downtown Reno just before noon. Stanley was a voter for the National Republican Party.
Stanley stated that he initially believed the elections officials were playing a quick one when he noticed that Trump's name wasn't on his ballot. However, after learning that Trump had opted to forgo the primary, he reasoned that the former president had his reasons.
"Nikki Haley isn't the solution. Based on his experience in business, Trump is the only candidate who has proven he can make the tough choices our country needs. So many regulations are falling on small businesses and family farms. "More government" is not the solution.
The election that took place on Tuesday was remarkably calm in comparison to previous years. There were no campaign signs visible, and there were no excited volunteers cheering for their favored candidate standing outside of voting places.