WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A call by the wife of Republican candidate Ron DeSantis for women from across the United States to "descend" on Iowa for its 2024 presidential nominating process prompted a reminder by the state Republican party that only residents can take part.
"You must be a legal resident of Iowa and the precinct you live in and bring a photo ID with you to participate," the state Republican party said on Friday in a post on the social media platform X.
The party is scheduled to hold local gatherings, known as the Iowa Caucus, on Jan. 15 in which participants will vote for their choice for the Republican candidate to run in November’s presidential election. U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to be the Democratic Party’s nominee.
The state Republican Party posted its reminder after Casey DeSantis, appearing on Fox News with her husband, the governor of Florida, called on women from across the country to join the gatherings, saying, “You do not have to be a resident of Iowa to participate."
"We are 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," said Casey DeSantis, who has been promoting a "Mamas for DeSantis" coalition as she campaigns for her husband.
Casey DeSantis later clarified on X that, "Voting in the Iowa caucus is limited to registered voters in Iowa," adding that "mamas and grandmamas" from elsewhere could "come volunteer in support of Ron DeSantis."
With just over a month to go before the Iowa contest, polls give former President Donald Trump a huge lead over DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley.
The Trump campaign said in a statement on Saturday that it "strongly condemned" what it called the DeSantises' "dirty and illegal tactics."
In an echo of Trump's baseless charge that fraud lost him the 2020 contest to Biden, the campaign urged Trump supporters in Iowa to "be aware of the DeSantises' openly stated plot to rig the Caucus."