WASHINGTON — Republican rivals former President Donald Trump and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis will run in New Hampshire on the same day Tuesday, much to the chagrin of some members of the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.
The federation, which hosts Trump at its traditional “Lilac Luncheon” in Concord, New Hampshire, protested that DeSantis will hold a town hall near Hollis almost at the same time as the luncheon.
“This attempt to divert attention from our Lilac Luncheon only diminishes the efforts of New Hampshire Republican women who are volunteers, working hard to provide our members with the opportunity to have access to all candidates,” said one. press release New Hampshire Republican Women’s Federation.
However, some band members objected to the statement, saying it appeared to breach the club’s pledge of neutrality between the contestants.
Melissa Blasek tweeted that she had resigned from the federation because “it’s clearly motivated by the Trump campaign and I find it baffling that our president is part of such a cheap campaign stunt.”
The Granite State
It’s no secret that candidates have a keen interest in New Hampshire: Granite State has played a pivotal role in previous presidential contests, including Trump’s 2016 bid.
After losing the Iowa caucuses to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, Trump rode back to an easy victory in the New Hampshire primary and never looked back on his road to the Republican nomination and the White House. .
Last week, Trump raised the objection to DeSantis dueling appearance.
In a statement, the former president’s campaign said “The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women criticized Ron DeSanctimonious in a press release for deliberately scheduling an event at the historic Lilac Luncheon in Concord.”
DeSantis aides did not comment on the flap, instead emphasizing New Hampshire’s importance.
“Governor DeSantis is working tirelessly to ensure his message of restoring sanity to this country and leading our great American comeback reaches every last primary voter in New Hampshire, and we have a top-notch organization in the state. to help him do that,” campaign press secretary Bryan Griffin said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: GOP women slam DeSantis over town hall clash with Trump event