Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis caused some controversy on Friday when she appeared on Fox News and encouraged moms and grandmas from across the country to “descend upon the state of Iowa” to be part of the caucus.
“You do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus,” Casey said. “So moms and grandmoms are going to be able to come and be a part and let their voice be heard in support of Ron DeSantis.”
That resulted in a “reminder” from the Republican Party of Iowa according to media reports.
Remember: you must be a legal resident of Iowa and the precinct you live in and bring photo ID with you to participate in the #iacaucus!
Read more on our caucus site: https://t.co/gfwU3Wt44v https://t.co/lRVLBIS2aW
— Iowa GOP (@IowaGOP) December 8, 2023
Casey DeSantis later clarified that she was encouraging out-of-state moms and grandmas to head for Iowa and volunteer, not vote.
Out-of-state individuals can’t vote in the Iowa Caucus, but they can speak on behalf of candidates and do other tasks for campaigns.
Trump advisor Chris LaCivita said DeSantis is giving the “cheating left a run for their money.”
Casey Desantis calling for out of staters to join the caucus in iowa …she gives the cheating left a run for their money in this one https://t.co/I2CRz2OqUp
— Chris LaCivita (@LaCivitaC) December 9, 2023
On Saturday morning, the Trump campaign released this statement:
Yesterday, Casey DeSantis went on national television and called on voters from across the nation to “descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus.” She went on to falsely claim, “you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus.”
Statement from Karoline Leavitt, spokeswoman for Make America Great Again Inc: “Casey DeSantis’ embrace of voter fraud to salvage her husband’s failing campaign is not just wrong, it risks compromising the integrity of the Iowa Caucus. This type of irresponsible and desperate rhetoric must be addressed by both Ron DeSantis and Governor Kim Reynolds, who campaigned for election integrity and was elected to protect the votes of Iowans. Both Governors DeSantis and Reynolds must reject and condemn these comments and apologize to the great people of Iowa!”
The Republican Party of Iowa has launched a website to answer caucus questions:
https://www.iowagop.org/2024caucus
