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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 searching 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 should not 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, in line with the Republican Social gathering of Iowa, which hours later mentioned that nonresidents have been barred from caucusing.
“Bear in mind: you have to 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 concerning the caucuses, which will likely be held on Jan. 15. It recommended 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 big lead.
“The Trump marketing campaign strongly condemns their soiled and unlawful techniques and implores all Trump supporters to pay attention to the DeSantises’ overtly acknowledged plot to rig the caucus by fraud,” the marketing campaign mentioned in an announcement.
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 approach for others to take part,” Ms. DeSantis wrote.
Mr. DeSantis additionally addressed the controversy whereas talking to reporters on Friday in Iowa.
“Whereas voting within the Iowa caucus is restricted to registered voters in Iowa, there’s a approach for others to take part,” he mentioned. “They even let folks go and communicate on behalf of candidates, they usually have all these precincts, so you might have individuals who actually can communicate strongly about our management which are going to return.”
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 would 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.
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