LAS VEGAS (AP) - Republican Party officials in Nevada have added a special evening caucus session Feb. 4 for Jewish voters marking the Sabbath, which will delay the results from the state's fifth-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest by several hours.
The Clark County Republican Party said Monday it will hold the evening caucus to accommodate roughly 500 conservative Jewish voters observing the traditional weekly day of worship. The move comes after casino billionaire and Newt Gingrich supporter Sheldon Adelson raised concerns about the Sabbath conflict.
County party spokeswoman Bobbie Haseley told The Associated Press that the move 12 days before the caucus has the blessing of state and national party officials.
Caucus results from Clark County - the Silver State's most populous county and home to Las Vegas and more than 70 percent of Nevada's total population - aren't expected to be released until after the 7 p.m. caucus at a school founded by Adelson and his wife. The majority owners of the world's largest publicly traded casino company, Las Vegas Sands Corp., are highly active in Jewish causes worldwide.
"The plan is we will release that information at the end of the final session," Haseley said.
