Casey DeSantis, the spouse of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, drew criticism on Saturday from the rival marketing campaign of former President Donald J. Trump for in search of to recruit out-of-state supporters to take part within the nation’s first Republican nominating contest.
The backlash got here a day after Ms. DeSantis, throughout a Fox News appearance together with her husband, urged supporters from elsewhere to “descend upon the state of Iowa to be part of the caucus.”
“You do not need to be a resident of Iowa to have the ability to take part within the caucus,” stated Ms. DeSantis, who has been a key participant in her husband’s marketing campaign and was particularly addressing moms and grandmothers who assist him.
However the name to motion is at odds with caucus guidelines, in response to the Republican Get together of Iowa, which hours later stated that nonresidents had been barred from caucusing.
“Keep in mind: you should be a authorized resident of Iowa and the precinct you reside in and convey photograph ID with you to take part within the #iacaucus!” the get together wrote on the social media platform X.
Mr. Trump’s marketing campaign on Saturday accused the DeSantis marketing campaign of spreading misinformation in regards to the caucuses, which will probably be held on Jan. 15. It urged that the transfer was a part of a broader scheme to vary the end result within the state, the place polls present that Mr. Trump, the Republican front-runner, has a major lead.
“The Trump marketing campaign strongly condemns their soiled and unlawful ways and implores all Trump supporters to concentrate on the DeSantises’ brazenly acknowledged plot to rig the caucus via fraud,” the marketing campaign stated in an announcement.
In an electronic mail on Saturday, Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the DeSantis marketing campaign, drew consideration to comments made later on Friday by Ms. DeSantis on X, making an attempt to make clear her earlier remarks.
“Whereas voting within the Iowa caucus is restricted to registered voters in Iowa, there’s a manner for others to take part,” Ms. DeSantis wrote.
Mr. DeSantis additionally addressed the controversy whereas chatting with reporters on Friday in Iowa.
“Whereas voting within the Iowa caucus is restricted to registered voters in Iowa, there’s a manner for others to take part,” he stated. “They even let individuals go and converse on behalf of candidates, they usually have all these precincts, so you will have individuals who actually can converse strongly about our management which might be going to come back.”
The Trump marketing campaign continued to grab upon Ms. DeSantis’s remarks on Saturday, calling on Gov. Kim Reynolds of Iowa, who has endorsed Mr. DeSantis and snubbed Mr. Trump, to make clear the caucus eligibility guidelines. It additionally demanded that Ms. Reynolds disavow the ways promoted by Ms. DeSantis as “flagrantly mistaken that would additional disenfranchise caucusgoers.”
A spokesman for Ms. Reynolds didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday.
Kellen Browning and Ann Hinga Klein contributed reporting from Iowa.