A thinned-out primary and friendly voting structure clear an easy path for Trump in Nevada

By GABE STERN
Associated Press/Report for America

RENO, Nev. (AP) — Nevada’s Republican delegates are essentially locked in for Donald Trump weeks before voters make their choice. That’s because a thinned-out primary field and a group of Nevada Republicans loyal to Trump have cleared the way for him by creating a caucus system separate from the primary and banning other candidates from running in both. Several Trump opponents refused to run in the caucuses, deriding the changes as unfair. Trump will be the only major candidate on the ballot on Feb. 8 when the caucuses take place. Former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will run in the state-sanctioned primary two days before, but that election won’t actually count for Republican delegates.