What to watch for in Nevada's GOP caucuses tonight
Nevada holds its Republican caucuses on Tuesday night, the fourth nominating contest for the Republicans. Caucusing begins at 5 p.m. PT or 8 p.m. ET and they don't end until 9 p.m. PT or midnight ET. Nevada has 30 delegates up for grabs to send to the Republican National Convention in July.
- Campaign 2016: The delegate scorecard
- Live: Nevada Republican primary results
- Republican nomination calendar
The state held its Democratic caucuses on Saturday, which Hillary Clinton won with 53 percent of the vote.
Will Donald Trump hold onto his momentum?
The billionaire businessman has already won two out of three of the first nominating contests so far -- New Hampshire and South Carolina -- and is well ahead of the GOP pack in terms of delegate count. Trump has already racked up 67 delegates compared to 11 for Ted Cruz, 10 for Marco Rubio, 5 for Kasich and 3 for Carson. A candidate needs 1,237 delegates to clinch the nomination. While it's generally hard to poll in Nevada, with that advantage, it could be difficult to stop Trump.
If Trump comes out on top, who could come in second?
Another victory for Trump could again lead to a battle for second place between Cruz and Rubio. For hours after polls closed last Saturday in South Carolina's GOP primary, the two GOP senators appeared to be tied at 22 percent. Rubio, however, ultimately edged out Cruz for second place and Cruz placed third. Cruz, however, won Iowa's Republican caucuses earlier this month and if he comes in second this time around, it could mean a longer primary fight to the nomination.
Could there be a surprise win for Cruz or Rubio?
With Jeb Bush out of the race, Rubio has been trying to position himself as the leading anti-Trump, establishment candidate in the 2016 campaign. In the last few days alone, Rubio has expanded his list of endorsements from more members of Congress and even former GOP presidential nominee Bob Dole has offered his support. Rubio has spent the last few days countering attacks from Cruz, including a video pushed by the Cruz campaign that inacurrately suggested Rubio mocked the Bible. As a result, Cruz wound up firing his communicators director Rick Tyler on Monday. Both Cruz and Rubio have spent a significant amount of time and and money in Nevada; Cruz has been in the state for about 10 days, compared with 13 for Rubio.
What critical endorsement could come out of the caucuses?
GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam have not yet officially endorsed a Republican candidate, but the Las Vegas-based couple could make the big reveal at the caucuses on Tuesday, according to The Wall Street Journal. In 2012, the Adelsons gave $15 million to a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich at the time. While they haven't yet positioned themselves behind a candidate this year, they each donated $2,700 to Cruz's campaign last November.
Could anyone drop out?
Ben Carson, who has remained in the bottom tier of candidates, has not recently hinted about dropping out of the race. Even Bush, who placed above Carson in South Carolina, dropped out of the race after the polls closed Saturday night. Kasich is also not expected to receive much support in Nevada, but he likely won't quit on Tuesday. The Ohio governor came in second place in New Hampshire's GOP primary earlier this month and is hoping for a strong performance next week on Super Tuesday when 11 states hold primaries and caucuses.