5 things to know about the Nevada caucus

U.S. presidential nominees are determined not just by primaries, where voters simply cast their ballots, but by complicated caucuses that require citizens to convene and discuss their choices before deciding who to support.

Caucuses serve two functions: to express preference for a presidential candidate, and to elect delegates to attend county, state and finally national conventions, where parties determine official nominees.

In the Democratic camp, former secretary of state Hillary Clinton has 394 delegates against Bernie Sanders’s 44.

Businessman Donald Trump leads the Republican field by 13 points at 33 percent of Nevada Republicans, according to a poll conducted by Gravis Marketing in December 2015, with Sen. Ted Cruz here as elsewhere is the favorite of movement conservatives, and he won the richly symbolic backing of Attorney General Adam Laxalt, who is at the same time an “anti-Establishment” figure in the state and the grandson of former Nevada governor and senator Paul Laxalt, a local potentate and also one of Ronald Reagan’s best friends. But in the final days before Saturday’s caucuses, Clinton’s chances of a big victory look far more like a political crapshoot.

Now wait, isn’t there a primary in our state too?

The presidential race heads out west for the Nevada caucuses, which get underway this Saturday. On Saturday, the Republicans will see their primary in the state of SC, while the Democratic Party’s caucus will be held in Nevada. Republicans have been unhappy with the low voter turnout, but Democrats claim that Nevada is the most diverse state on the early voting calendar, and should keep its current caucus dates. Going into Nevada, according to a poll conducted by TargetPoint Consulting, the two candidates are dead even, each holding 45 percent of likely Democratic voters. Another Democratic wrinkle is that “at-large” caucus sites will be set up in major Las Vegas casinos so that night-shift workers can participate. Coverage begins Friday Feb. 19.