Gerald Ford

Neither U.S. Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) nor John McCain (R-Ariz.) won their party's respective caucus in the state this year, but barring the unthinkable, one of the two is almost certain to carry the state in the general election.

The last time a loser of Nevada's caucus system went on to carry the state in the general election was in 1988 when Republicans chose Pat Robertson over George H.W. Bush. Bush became the nominee and carried the state in November.

In 1976, Gerald Ford lost the Republican caucus to Ronald Reagan by 66 to 29 percent, but won the state in the general election.

Nevada’s early caucus has given voters a true relevance in the presidential nomination process, perhaps for the first time in state history.  Past caucuses have gone largely unnoticed, and presidential primaries held in 1976 and 1980 were not hotly contested.  In 1976, Ronald Reagan defeated Gerald Ford here by a 66%-29% margin, but lost primaries in Oregon and Kentucky that had attracted considerably more attention.  On the Democratic side, Jerry Brown won Nevada 53%-23% over Jimmy Carter.  In 1980, Carter defeated Ted Kennedy by a 38%-29% margin.