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Republican primaries to be cancelled in 4 states

Washington, Sep 7 

The Republican Party is set to scrap primaries and caucuses in four US states ahead of the 2020 presidential election.

A Politico news report on Friday said party officials in the states of South Carolina, Nevada, Arizona and Kansas were expected to finalize the cancellation process this weekend, reports Xinhua news agency.

Party officials said as there were no intra-party challengers with any realistic chance of beating President Donald Trump in bagging party nomination, state level primaries can be skipped to save money.

Michael McDonald, Republican Party chairman of Nevada, said it would be a "waste of money" to hold a primary and reach the "inevitable conclusion".

"We should be spending those funds to get all our candidates across the finish line instead," he told the media on Friday.

Party chairman from Kansas Michael Kuckelman expressed similar opinion, saying cancelling the state caucus can save $250,000.

Both Republican candidates seeking to unseat Trump cried foul to the decisions.

Congressman Joe Walsh, one of the challengers, said the move was "wrong" and the Republican National Committee "should be ashamed of itself".

The Politico quoted White House aides as saying that it had no role in cancelling state level primaries, but would support such a move.

It is not unusual for political parties to cancel state primaries and caucuses if a president of their party is seeking re-election.