(USNewsBreak.com) – When the race for the Republican Party nomination began, more than a dozen candidates were running. Week by week, that number dwindled until the Iowa caucuses took place, when two of the remaining candidates, entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, dropped out and immediately endorsed former President Donald Trump. Yet, there’s one hanger-on: former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley — and it doesn’t look like things are going too well for her.
Iowa Caucuses and Beyond
The Iowa caucuses took place on January 15, and, as many predicted, Trump emerged as the clear frontrunner. He walked away with 51% of the vote, 29.8% more than DeSantis, who placed second with 21.2%. Haley was third in that matchup with 19.1%, earning her eight delegates to Trump’s 20.
Just over a week later, in New Hampshire, Trump was the clear winner once again. He emerged with 54.4% of the vote, earning him 13 delegates, while Haley scored 43.2% and nine delegates. She seemed to be holding her ground, if only by narrow margins. Yet, things went wrong for Haley in Nevada.
Nevada Primary
On February 6, voters headed to the Nevada primary to cast their ballots, and more than 73,000 showed up. Haley came in second again this time, but it wasn’t to Trump, who didn’t even compete. She garnered 30.4% of the vote, but the winner was “None of these candidates.”
More than 47,000 people cast their ballots for none of these candidates, giving it the first-place win at 63.4%. According to POLITICO, Trump loyalists had actively encouraged GOP voters to choose the null vote rather than Haley as a way to show their support for the former president.
While the showing may embarrass Haley, it’s not the first time it’s happened in a primary and not the first time in Nevada. In 2014, None-of-the-above won the Democratic gubernatorial primary in the Silver State.
The Nevada primary featured a different landscape because the state parties prohibit candidates who run in the state-run primaries from participating in the party-run caucuses. Haley had previously determined that the state-run primary favored Trump, so she focused on the party-run caucus. Trump appeared on the other ballot on Thursday, February 8.
The two will face off next in South Carolina on February 24, where Haley once served as the governor, but Trump seems to have sound footing there, too. It’s anyone’s guess how that state will play out or what Haley will do if Trump also defeats her there.
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