Casey DeSantis Urges Out-of-State Residents To ‘Participate’ In Iowa Caucuses, Prompting Criticism

Casey DeSantis, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis‘ spouse, faced backlash from the opposing campaign of former President Donald Trump for attempting to enlist individuals from other states to join in the country’s inaugural Republican primary.

The criticism followed the next day after the First Lady of Florida, while appearing on Fox News alongside her spouse, encouraged supporters from other places to “come to Iowa and join the caucus.”

According to the Republican Party of Iowa, the request for action contradicts the rules of the caucus – individuals who are not residents are not allowed to participate in the caucus.

“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 party wrote on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

The Trump campaign alleged that the DeSantis campaign was disseminating false information regarding the caucuses scheduled for January 15. They insinuated that this action was a component of a larger plan to manipulate the results in the state, where polls indicate that Trump, the leading Republican candidate, holds a considerable advantage.

“The Trump campaign strongly condemns their dirty and illegal tactics and implores all Trump supporters to be aware of the DeSantises’ openly stated plot to rig the caucus through fraud,” the campaign stated.

On Friday, the governor also commented on the matter while addressing reporters.

“While voting in the Iowa caucus is limited to registered voters in Iowa, there is a way for others to participate,” he said. He added that people are even allowed to go and speak on behalf of candidates. “They have all these precincts, so you may have people who really can speak strongly about our leadership that are going to come,” he said.