One election down, one left. Here's why Nevada has two GOP primary contests

One of the more unusual presidential contests is taking place in Nevada this week when the state's Republican Party holds a caucus on Thursday — just two days after the state held its primary election.

In the Democratic presidential primary, President Biden won the night. The incumbent was expected to win the state easily without any real challengers on the ballot.

On the Republican side, though, things were a little more interesting, in part because a new primary and caucus system that left voters confused and frustrated. In the GOP contest Tuesday, former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, the only major candidate left on the primary ballot, lost the election to "none of these candidates," one of the options available for voters to select.

Austin Vick, a Republican primary voter at the polls on Tuesday, had wanted to cast his ballot for former President Donald Trump.

"Yeah, it's strange we can't write Trump in," he told NPR. "That's who I would be voting for. I don't want to vote for any of the candidates."

Since he couldn't cast a vote for Trump on Tuesday, Vick says he plans to go to Thursday's caucus to do just that.

Looking ahead to Thursday

The reason there are two contests this week is because Republicans in the state aren't happy with somewhat-recent changes to Nevada election laws.

In 2021, the state's Democratic governor at the time, Steve Sisolak, signed a slew of bills into law creating all-mail elections, expanding voter registration and moving the state-run presidential contest to a primary.

A caucus is a more restrictive voting system than a primary. A caucus requires voters to show up on a specific day at a specific time to cast a ballot, which can make it harder for shift workers and people with small