2023年7月8日，前总统唐纳德·特朗普站在舞台上，在拉斯维加斯的一场竞选活动中发表讲话。特朗普推动各州共和党屈从于他的意志，并在努力赢得共和党的优势
内华达州里诺-前总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)的竞选团队承诺参加内华达州的党团会议，因为该州批准了一些规则，竞争对手的竞选团队表示，这些规则使该州的提名过程向有利于他的方向倾斜。
该条款将禁止任何提前两天参加州政府初选的候选人参加2月8日的党团会议。他们还将限制超级政治行动委员会，如佛罗里达州州长罗恩·德桑蒂斯(Ron DeSantis)所依赖的超级政治行动委员会，试图在党团会议上加强对候选人的支持。
内华达州共和党主席迈克尔·麦克唐纳周六晚上表示，川普将在中央委员会闭门会议后参加党团会议。早些时候，一名参与特朗普竞选活动的人士拒绝向美联社证实竞选活动的参与，但表示“我们将在晚些时候宣布，在非常非常近的将来。”
三位知情人士周六证实了规则的变化。他们要求匿名，因为他们无权公开讨论这些变化。
这些举动反映了特朗普对许多州政党的影响以及他作为领先者的地位，特别是在内华达州，该州共和党由前总统的盟友管理。通常奖励基础支持和组织的党团会议预计将有利于特朗普，因为他牢牢抓住了共和党最忠诚的选民。
商人Vivek Ramaswamy此前宣布参加内华达州党团会议，这将是继爱荷华州和新罕布什尔州之后共和党日历上的第三次会议。据麦克唐纳说，电台主持人拉里·埃尔德也参加了周六的会议，并将参加党团会议。
几个月来，内华达州共和党一直坚持举行党团会议，尽管2021年通过的一项州法律要求州和县政府在至少有两名候选人参加投票的情况下提供总统初选。
该州的初选将于2月6日举行，也就是党团会议的前两天。但这些结果可能是象征性的，因为该缔约国拒绝用它们来确定代表。国家共和党通常允许各州政党决定如何授予代表。
党团会议还要求选民身份证，纸质选票和只在同一天投票。内华达的选举在州立初选中使用的法律要求普遍邮寄选票，提前投票，当天注册，并要求注册投票的ID，但不是在投票站。
如果三天之内发生两次总统提名过程，这一结果可能意味着共和党选民普遍感到困惑。内华达州共和党俱乐部(Nevada Republican Club)表示，它代表该州约400名成员，本月向当地共和党官员发送了一封信，敦促他们说出该州同时举行初选和党团会议的潜在问题，并挫败拟议的规则变化。
麦克唐纳为举行党团会议的决定辩护，他在接受采访时说，这一过程将迫使候选人在全州范围内组织起来。
“我的工作，也是我的目标，是让候选人了解我们所有的县，”他说。
许多州共和党在2020年大选前对规则进行了修改，增加了更多赢家通吃的竞争，并要求候选人获得更高比例的选票才能获得任何代表。特朗普在内华达州会见了党主席，路易斯安那、宾夕法尼亚、佛罗里达和新泽西。
在密歇根州，该州共和党越来越忠于特朗普，该党领导层投票改变了该州长期以来根据公开初选分配所有总统代表的程序。现在，该州55名代表中的16名将根据2月27日的初选结果产生，而另外39名将来自该党活动人士的闭门党团会议。
这些变化，以及爱达荷州、路易斯安那州和科罗拉多州的其他变化，都有利于领先者——在这种情况下是特朗普——并且有时会引发党内冲突。
麦克唐纳在2020年是特朗普的假选举人，此前他告诉美联社，该党推动了党团会议，因为州议会的民主党人没有考虑共和党州长乔·伦巴多(Joe Lombardo)的选举诚信措施，特别是选民身份。
麦克唐纳在会前的行动呼吁中写道:“内华达州目前缺少选民身份，选举中的透明制表，基于选区的投票，我们看到我们的街道和垃圾桶被不请自来的选票邮件淹没。”"我永远不会放弃为自由公正的选举而战。"
支持德桑蒂斯竞选的永不退缩超级政治行动委员会(Never Back Down super PAC)创始人肯·库奇内利(Ken Cuccinelli)认为，党团会议的规则非常有利于特朗普。
“特朗普讨厌操纵选举，除非他在操纵选举，就像他在内华达州所做的那样，”特朗普政府时期担任国土安全部副部长的库奇内利说。___
米歇尔·l·普莱斯自纽约对本文有报道贡献。斯特恩是美联社/美国州议会新闻倡议报道的团队成员。“为美国报道”是一个非盈利的全国性服务项目，它将记者安排在当地的新闻编辑室。在X上关注斯特恩，前Twitter: @gabestern326。
Donald Trump commits to Nevada caucus as state GOP approves rules rivals see as helping his campaign
RENO, Nev. --Former President Donald Trump 's campaign committed to running in Nevada’s caucus as the state party approved rules that rival campaigns say tilt the state’s nominating process in his favor.
The provisions would bar any candidate from the Feb. 8 caucus if they participate in the state-run primary two days earlier. They would also restrict super PACs, like the one Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is relying on, from trying to bolster support for candidates in a caucus.
Nevada GOP Chairman Michael McDonald said Saturday evening that Trump will participate in the caucus after a closed-door meeting of its central committee. Earlier, a person involved with Trump’s campaign declined to confirm the campaign’s participation to The Associated Press but said “we’ll have an announcement to make at a later date, in the very, very near future.”
Three people familiar with the matter confirmed the rules changes on Saturday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the changes publicly.
The moves reflect Trump's influence on many state parties and his status as the frontrunner, particularly in Nevada, where the state GOP is run by allies of the former president. Caucuses, which typically reward base support and organizing, are expected to benefit Trump given his solid grip on the GOP’s most loyal voters.
Businessman Vivek Ramaswamy previously announced his participation in the Nevada caucus, which will be third in the GOP calendar after Iowa and New Hampshire. Radio host Larry Elder also attended Saturday’s meeting and will participate in the caucus, according to McDonald.
For months, the Nevada Republican Party has insisted on holding a caucus despite a state law passed in 2021 requiring state and county governments to offer a presidential primary if at least two candidates are on the ballot.
The state-run primary will occur on Feb. 6, two days before the caucus. But those results will likely be symbolic since the state party refuses to use them to determine delegates. The national Republican Party generally allows state parties to decide how they will award delegates.
The caucuses also call for voter ID, paper ballots and only same-day voting. Nevada'selectionlaws, used in the state-run primary, require universal mail-in ballots, early voting, same-day registration, and require an ID to register to vote, but not at the polls.
The result could mean widespread confusion for Republican voters if two presidential nominating processes happen within the span of three days. The Nevada Republican Club, which says it represents about 400 members in the state, sent a letter to local GOP officials this month urging them to speak out about the potential problems with the state having both a primary and a caucus and to defeat the proposed rule changes.
McDonald defended the decision to hold a caucus, saying in an interview that the process will force candidates to organize across the state.
“My job, as well as my goal, is to have the candidates get to know all our counties,” he said.
Many state Republican parties made changes to their rules ahead of the 2020 election by adding more winner-take-all contests and requiring candidates to earn higher percentages of the vote to claim any delegates. Trump has met with party chairs in Nevada,Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Florida and New Jersey.
In Michigan, where the state GOP has become increasingly loyal to Trump, the party’s leadership voted to change the state’s longtime process of allocating all its presidential delegates based on an open primary election. Now, 16 of the state’s 55 delegates will be awarded based on the results of a Feb. 27 primary, while the other 39 will be come from a closed-door caucus meetings of party activists.
Those changes, along with others in Idaho, Louisiana and Colorado, all benefit a frontrunner – in this case Trump – and has sometimes elicited intra-party strife.
McDonald was a fake elector for Trump in 2020 and previously told The Associated Press that the party pushed the caucus since Democrats in the state Legislature did not consider Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo’s election integrity measures, particularly voter ID.
“Nevada is currently missing Voter ID, transparent tabulation in elections, precinct-based voting, and we see our streets and trash cans flooded with unsolicited mail in ballots,” McDonald wrote in his call to action before the meeting. “I will NEVER give up the fight for free and fair elections.”
Ken Cuccinelli, founder of the Never Back Down super PAC supporting DeSantis' campaign, argued the caucus rules strongly favor Trump.
“Trump hates rigged elections, except when he’s doing the rigging, like he’s doing in Nevada,” said Cuccinelli, who was the deputy secretary of homeland security during the Trump administration. ___
Michelle L. Price contributed reporting from New York. Stern is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Follow Stern on X, formerly Twitter: @gabestern326.
