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Nikki Haley at a campaign appearance in South Carolina
Photo: Allison Joyce / AFP
The vote in the US state only has symbolic significance for Nikki Haley. Nevertheless, the result is likely to hurt. The former UN ambassador suffered a serious defeat. On Tuesday (local time), Haley received 32 percent, significantly fewer votes than the “none of these candidates” option, for which more than 61 percent were in favor. Haley is former President Donald Trump's main remaining intra-party rival. She had almost no opposing candidates and Trump's name was not on the ballot.
The result has no concrete impact on the race for the Republican nomination: a victory in the primary is not decisive for the delegate votes, which are important for the party conventions at which the parties' candidates are formally nominated.
Delegate votes will be distributed in further primary elections
The reason is a dispute between the state authorities and the Republicans in Nevada. The party decided to ignore the primary in the state and hold its own so-called caucus on Thursday, in which Donald Trump is the only important candidate and in which the delegate votes are also distributed. It was already clear before the vote that Haley would not receive a vote from the delegates.
The result in Nevada is still another setback for Trump's competitor. She had already lost the votes in the states of Iowa and New Hampshire in the intra-party race against Trump, who was considered the favorite. It is also becoming apparent that she will also be defeated in the vote in her home state of South Carolina this month.
Meanwhile, the Democratic primary in Nevada also took place on Tuesday, with President Joe Biden clearly winning with around 90 percent of the vote. The 81-year-old is practically certain to be the Democratic candidate in the presidential election on November 5th because he has no serious competitors.
asc/AFP