Casey DeSantis invited outsiders to the Iowa Caucus. The State Party said no.
Casey DeSantis, the wife of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, was criticized Saturday by former President Donald J. Trump’s rival campaign for trying to recruit supporters from out of state to participate in the nation’s first Republican nominating contest.
The response came a day after Ms. DeSantis, during a Fox News appearance along with her husband urged supporters from elsewhere to “descend to the state of Iowa to be part of the caucus.”
“You don’t have to be an Iowa resident to participate in the caucus,” said Mrs. DeSantis, who played a key role in her husband’s campaign and specifically targeted mothers and grandmothers who support him.
But the call to action violates caucus rules, according to the Republican Party of Iowa, which said hours later that non-residents were barred from caucusing.
“Remember, you must be a legal resident of Iowa and the county in which you live and bring a photo ID to attend the #iacaucus!” writes the party on the social media platform X.
Mr Trump’s campaign accused the DeSantis campaign on Saturday of spreading misinformation about the caucuses, which will take place on January 15. It suggested the move was part of a broader plan to change the outcome in the state, where polls show Mr. Trump Trump, the Republican front-runner, has a significant lead.
“The Trump campaign strongly condemns their dirty and illegal tactics and urges all Trump supporters to be aware of the DeSantises’ openly stated plot to manipulate the caucus through fraud,” the campaign said in a statement declaration.
Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the DeSantis campaign, drew attention to it in an email Saturday comments later on Friday by Ms. DeSantis about Xin an attempt to clarify her previous comments.
“While voting in the Iowa caucus is limited to registered Iowa voters, there is a way for others to participate,” Ms. DeSantis wrote.
Mr. DeSantis also discussed the controversy while speaking to reporters in Iowa on Friday.
“While voting in the Iowa caucus is limited to registered voters in Iowa, there is a way for others to participate,” he said. “They even had people go out and speak on behalf of candidates, and they have all these districts, so you might have people who can really speak powerfully about our future leadership.”
The Trump campaign continued to seize on Ms. DeSantis’ comments on Saturday, calling on Governor Kim Reynolds of Iowa, who has endorsed Mr. DeSantis and rejected Mr. Trump, to clarify the caucus eligibility rules. It also demanded that Ms. Reynolds reject the tactics promoted by Ms. DeSantis as “blatantly wrong, which could further disenfranchise caucusgoers.”
A spokesperson for Ms. Reynolds did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Saturday.
Kellen Browning contributed reporting from Iowa.