The Nevada Republican caucus is just beginning. Our local news service was on the scene. Just like last Saturday when Democrats had their opportunity to voice their selection to represent them in November, the crowds appear fairly large.

One difference I noticed immediately was that tonight’s volunteers appeared to be mostly white and averaged 55 years of age or older. The Democratic volunteers were young, probably averaging 27 years of age, and much more diverse.

These facts made it evident that one party is the party of the past, and the other is representative of the future.

But none of this matters tonight. There remains only a single question; will the polls prove accurate? If they are, Trump will crush both Cruz and Rubio and increased momentum will lead him to victory a week from today when Super Tuesday will likely confirm the Republican nominee.

Mainstream Republicans continue to ask; ‘how did this happen?’ All they need to do is look to a severe lack of leadership in the last seven years within the Republican Party. Policies of negativism have been rejected by all American voters.

Interviews prior to tonight’s caucus revealed increasing support for Trump. My state’s displeasure with the establishment, and that includes Cruz and Rubio, will likely be evident at the end of the evening.

Speculation by politicos will likely prove nothing. Nevada is proud of its independence, and often surprises the “experts.” My state is both diverse and unpredictable. You only need to look at last Saturday. Hillary Clinton once had a 40 percent lead in the polls. At the end of the day her victory was only in single digits.

Before the results are in, the Republican process in Nevada has been heavily criticized as inaccurate and unreliable. The citizens of Nevada may not know the true results for days.

The one truth is that mainstream Republicans are praying that Jeb Bush supporters will turn to Marco Rubio. The question is; did anyone in Nevada actually support Jeb? The latest polls on February 23^rd gave Trump 45 percent, Rubio 19 percent, and Cruz 17.

When the final results are in, one thing will be important; who is in second place. The third place ‘winner’ will likely be in jeopardy of not winning any other states with the exception of their own.

To complicate matters, just after 7 p.m. GOP leaders have reported suspicion of duplicate votes. What a shock! The party who believes in previously non-existent voter fraud is examining itself for illegal activities.

Almost immediately after the Democratic caucus last Saturday, the results were confirmed. It’s now nearly 8:30 in Nevada, and nothing is being reported from Republicans.

Wednesday February 24

This morning we finally have projected results from the caucus, and for everyone but Trump, they are devastating. Trump not only won as expected, he slaughtered his opponents.

Trump received 45.9 percent of the votes, nearly doubling Marco Rubio who tallied 23.9 percent, while Cruz was third with 21.4 percent. Carson and Kasich were in single digits and therefore received zero delegates. Trump won 12, while Rubio and Cruz received 5 each.

Next Tuesday may be a great day for Donald Trump, and a very bad day for Republican ‘leadership.’ The man they once considered a ‘bad joke,’ appears to be headed for the party’s nomination in July.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey

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