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SIOUX CITY, Iowa — The Republican Party of Iowa on Friday clarified that out-of-state residents cannot take part in its presidential nominating contest after Florida first lady Casey DeSantis — the wife of candidate Ron DeSantis — urged mothers and grandmothers from around the country to “descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus,” and added, “you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus.”
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Casey DeSantis, who often joins her husband on the campaign trail, has been promoting a “Mamas for DeSantis” 2024 coalition. She said on Fox News that “we’re asking all of these moms and grandmoms to come, from wherever it might be — North Carolina, South Carolina — and to descend upon the state of Iowa to be a part of the caucus.”
With Ron DeSantis sitting silently beside her, Casey DeSantis added, “Because you do not have to be a resident of Iowa to be able to participate in the caucus.” She said that people should come “let their voice be heard in support of Ron DeSantis,” the Republican governor of Florida.
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The Florida first lady later clarified in a post on X, the social media site, that “voting in the Iowa caucuses is limited to registered voters in Iowa.” And her husband addressed the confusion with reporters, saying of non-Iowa voters: “Obviously, you can’t vote in the caucus, but you can help with it. They even let people go and speak on behalf of candidates.”
Still, Casey DeSantis’s comments spawned enough confusion that the Iowa GOP posted its own guidance on X late Friday afternoon. “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!” the organization wrote.
The incident even caught the attention of Nebraska voters who showed up to a Sioux City, Iowa, event for rival GOP presidential candidate Nikki Haley on Friday evening. Attendee Deb Pieper brought it up unprompted.
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“I am from Nebraska, but I understand that I am able to caucus in Iowa,” Pieper said as she waited for Haley to arrive. “I just heard that. Ron DeSantis’s wife just said that. On the news. On Fox News tonight.”
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But she said she had just asked some other people about the matter, and they cleared things up: She can’t vote, though she can “have an influence.”
“I can’t actually stand and be counted,” said Pieper, who said Haley is her top pick because she believes the former U.N. ambassador is most likely to beat President Biden.
Trump and his allies also pounced, suggesting Casey DeSantis’ comments would contribute to voter fraud — an issue that Trump has falsely cast as widespread and blamed for his 2020 election loss. “We demand the Governor of Iowa Kim Reynolds clarify what the rules are,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement issued Saturday morning.
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DeSantis is focusing intensively on Iowa, the first state in the GOP nominating process, and counting on a strong showing there to jolt his struggling effort to challenge the far-and-away polling leader, former president Donald Trump. DeSantis once polled more competitively with Trump but has lost ground over the past year and is now fighting with Haley for a distant second place in surveys of the Hawkeye State.
On Friday, Ron and Casey DeSantis joined Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R), who has endorsed DeSantis, for a “Mamas for DeSantis” event in the Des Moines area. The campaign announced that it had “officially welcomed mamas and grandmamas in all 99 counties” of Iowa.
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