On Tuesday, Nevada held its GOP presidential primary. On Thursday, the state Republican party holds presidential caucuses — with an entirely different ballot. The path to this strange setup started in 2021, when the Democratic-controlled state Legislature enacted a law requiring a “presidential preference primary.” But Nevada Republican officials preferred a type of contest they believed would help former President Donald Trump, whose passionate supporters can be counted on to turn out. So the state party announced that it would hold caucuses a few days after the state-mandated primary, and they would be the only way candidates could win delegates. But candidates can compete in only one of these dueling contests — which means former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, by being on the primary ballot, won no delegates.
The Nevada GOP’s move may seem radical, but it’s less rare than you might imagine. In December, after Colorado’s Supreme Court struck Trump from the Republican primary ballot, the state’s Republican Party responded by proposing that it abandon the primary altogether and hold caucuses, instead. Quite a few state parties regularly shift back and forth between caucuses and primaries for picking presidential nominees. And they do it for several reasons but one overarching purpose: to exert control and achieve party goals.
It’s key to understand the distinction between primaries and caucuses. A primary is a simple election. People can vote in it quickly and, in many states, from home. Caucuses, often run by the state parties, require more time, usually several hours on a weeknight, and they can be far more social and even confrontational. As a result, caucus turnout is usually much lower and limited to the most committed party members and candidate supporters. The decision about which to hold can thus affect what sorts of people participate and which candidate ends up winning.
Caucuses have gotten a bad rap in recent years, and Democrats have…
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