CARSON CITY, Nev. – On Monday, the Nevada State Senate approved a bill that aims to threaten New Hampshire’s First in the Nation Primary in 2024.
In a 15-6 vote, the Senate passed AB 126, a bill that changes Nevada’s presidential caucus into a presidential preference primary similar to New Hampshire’s.
The bill also proposes placing the date of Nevada’s new primary on the first Tuesday of February with ten days of early voting before primary day. This would be 22 days earlier than Nevada’s caucus date in 2020. The 2020 Nevada Caucus took place 11 days after the 2020 New Hampshire Primary.
In the original draft of the bill, Nevada’s primary would be held at least one week before any other primary held west of the Rocky Mountains, but this provision was removed and no subsequent provision requiring Nevada to hold its contest a week before any other was put into the bill’s final draft.
Under New Hampshire law, the New Hampshire Presidential Primary is held either on the second Tuesday in March or seven days before any other state’s comparable primary.
AB 126 passed the Nevada State Assembly 30-11 last week and Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has voiced support for the bill.
