2008 Nevada Republican presidential caucuses

Process

The Nevada Republican Party caucus was a closed caucus open to those who were registered 30 days before the caucus date, and 17-year-olds who were eligible to vote in the general election in November. As in most Republican caucuses, there were two components. First, precinct delegates were elected from the attendees. These delegates represented the caucusgoers at the county conventions in March, and generally announced who they support for president, and why they should go to the county convention. Election of delegates was by show of hands. Then, a supporter of each campaign spoke on behalf of their candidate. Finally, a straw poll, called a presidential preference poll, was taken of the individuals in the room. This preference poll was a secret ballot with candidate names printed on them.

Although the news media reported the results of the straw poll and proportionally assigned delegates to the Republican National Convention based on it, no delegates were selected at the caucus. Under Nevada Republican Party rules, the precinct delegates would convene at county conventions on March 15, from which a smaller group of delegates would be selected for a state convention on April 26. The state convention would select 31 of Nevada's delegates to the national convention.

Campaign

Republican candidate Mitt Romney campaigned hard in Nevada, while the other leading Republican candidates, John McCain and Mike Huckabee, focused on South Carolina during the run-up to January 19. The Republican party did not cut Nevada's delegates to the national convention in half; therefore, Nevada had more delegates at stake than South Carolina. He was expected to benefit from Nevada's large Mormon population.

A poll ahead of the election predicted John McCain to win the election with 22 percent, followed by Rudy Giuliani (18 percent), Mike Huckabee (16 percent), Mitt Romney (15 percent), Fred Thompson (11 percent) and Ron Paul (6 percent).

On January 17, Ron Paul's Nevada campaign representatives warned state GOP officials that thousands of caucus goers had been given incorrect information on where to go to caucus. Party officials addressed the problem with a message on the Nevada GOP website that morning, two days before the caucus.

Results

Romney's win in Nevada extended the lead that he then held in total delegates. After coming last in this caucus, Duncan Hunter withdrew his bid for the nomination.

Although delegates were not pledged to candidates until the state convention, the news media allocated delegates proportionally for reporting purposes.

Delegate selection to the national convention did not proceed as planned. By April 26, Romney had ended his campaign and endorsed McCain, hoping his supporters would do the same at the state convention. However, many delegates switched their support to Ron Paul instead. After Paul supporters successfully passed a rule change positioning themselves to send more Paul delegates to the national convention, the convention was recessed by its chairman, State Senator Bob Beers. The state convention failed to reconvene, and in July the twelve-member executive board of the Nevada Republican Party instead approved the slate of national delegates. All 34 voted for McCain at the national convention.

References

Notes

References

1. JESSE J. HOLLAND. "Mormons Key for Romney in Nevada". [[Associated Press]].
2. "Inside the campaigns, and the real story". Las Vegas Sun.
3. "Election Center 2008: Primary Exit Polls - Elections & Politics news from CNN.com". CNN.
4. "Official Caucus Agenda 2008". The Nevada GOP Caucus.
5. (January 19, 2008). "Nevada Republican Caucus 2008". North Lake Tahoe Bonanza.
6. [http://www.nvgopcaucus.com/questions-and-answers Questions and Answers. The Nevada GOP Caucus]
7. "Nevada Republican Delegation 2008".
8. (January 18, 2008). "South Carolina, Nevada could crown new front-runners". [[cnn.com]].
9. [http://www.rgj.com/blogs/inside-nevada-politics/2008/01/new-poll-democratic-race-in-nevada-dead.html a blog on The Reno Gazette-Journal website - Gannett] {{webarchive. link. (2012-09-10)
10. Campbell, Stewart. (Jan 17, 2008). "Ron Paul Campaign Concerned About Incorrect Caucus Location Information Provided by the Nevada State Republican Party". [[KOLO-TV]].
11. "Nevada Caucus Results - Election Guide 2008 - Results - The New York Times".
12. (27 April 2008). "Ron Paul campaign dominates convention". Las Vegas Sun.
13. (26 April 2008). "Nevada GOP hosts convention". Nevada Appeal.
14. (28 April 2008). "GOP defends convention process". Nevada Appeal.
15. "Nevada GOP selects delegates for national convention". Nevada Appeal.
16. (3 August 2008). "Buried but embarrassing news: GOP unable to host convention". Las Vegas Sun.