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 looking for 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 Information look together with her husband, urged supporters from elsewhere to “descend upon the state of Iowa to be part of the caucus.”
“You don’t have to be a resident of Iowa to have the ability to take part within the caucus,” mentioned Ms. DeSantis, who has been a key participant in her husband’s marketing campaign and was particularly addressing moms and grandmothers who help him.
However the name to motion is at odds with caucus guidelines, based on the Republican Celebration of Iowa, which hours later mentioned 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 produce picture ID with you to take part within the #iacaucus!” the occasion 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 shall be held on Jan. 15. It steered that the transfer was a part of a broader scheme to vary the 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 techniques and implores all Trump supporters to concentrate on the DeSantises’ overtly said plot to rig the caucus by fraud,” the marketing campaign mentioned in a press release.
In an e mail on Saturday, Andrew Romeo, a spokesman for the DeSantis marketing campaign, drew consideration to feedback made afterward 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 means 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 means for others to take part,” he mentioned. “They even let individuals go and communicate on behalf of candidates, they usually have all these precincts, so you will have individuals who actually can communicate strongly about our management which are 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 techniques promoted by Ms. DeSantis as “flagrantly unsuitable that might additional disenfranchise caucusgoers.”
A spokesman for Ms. Reynolds didn’t instantly reply to a request for touch upon Saturday.
Kellen Browning contributed reporting from Iowa.