Rivals accuse Nevada GOP of rigging system to make sure Trump is nominee

The campaigns of at least two Republican presidential candidates allege that Nevada state party officials are rigging their state’s nominating election in favor of Donald Trump, NBC News reports.

The Silver State’s GOP leaders have scheduled a caucus for Feb 8 – two days after a primary that state officials scheduled. And state Republicans are saying delegates will only be assigned from the caucus.

The dispute over how Nevada Republicans administer their state's election has fueled a dispute between some Trump rivals and state GOP officials – with some saying it's being rigged to favor Trump. A primary works like an election, with voters casting their ballots. But a caucus sees delegates physically meet and debate before aligning themselves with a candidate.

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Erin Perrine, a spokesperson for the "Never Back Down"super PAC that supports Ron DeSantis, assailed Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald as a "Trump puppet" who is "conducting that caucus/primary, primary/caucus routine that he’s doing," NBC News reported earlier this week.

The PAC has already halted on-the-ground operations in the state.

“Irony is not lost on us that Trump and his cronies rail against elections that aren’t actually rigged, but then go rig an entire state’s election,” said an official with a second GOP presidential campaign who requested anonymity because they’re not authorized to speak publicly about their campaign’s strategy.

A Trump adviser fired back, according to the report, telling NBC News that: "To attack Republican leadership for picking a process that they believe should be done by Republicans in Nevada, they’re also essentially attacking Republicans in Iowa."

"You can’t attack a party process without attacking the grassroots.”

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