Carson: Cruz ‘Dirty Tricks’ Ruined My Chances In Iowa!

Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson speaks to the crowd at an economic forum, Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Columbia, S.C. Republican hopefuls are pitching a conservative path to fighting poverty. (AP Photo/Sean Rayford)
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Dr. Ben Carson on Tuesday morning accused supporters of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) of telling voters at Iowa precincts that Carson had dropped out of the race, encouraging them to vote for Cruz instead.

Before the vote was called on Monday night, Carson said that his rivals had employed “dirty tricks” and circulated rumors that the retired neurosurgeon had dropped out. Carson on Monday clarified that he was still in the race and addressed reports that he was headed for vacation in Florida after the Iowa caucus. His campaign said he was merely headed to get a fresh set of clothes.

Carson elaborated on his claims about Cruz supporters’ actions during a Tuesday morning interview on “Fox and Friends.”

“At many of the precincts, the information was disseminated that I was suspending my campaign, that I had dropped out. And anybody who was planning to vote for me was wasting their vote and therefore they should reconsider,” Carson told Fox News.

When asked if he believed Cruz supporters spoke at precincts and said that Carson had dropped out, Carson replied, “Yes, some of those speakers said that, and we have also tweets and written correspondence to the same.”

The retired neurosurgeon told Fox News that his wife spoke at an Iowa caucus site. He said that when she arrived, a Cruz supporter had told the crowd that Carson was dropping out. Carson said his wife set the record straight and that he won that particular precinct.

Carson also said he was referring to tweets published by Cruz supporter Rep. Steve King (R-IA). The congressman suggested on Monday night that Carson was dropping out, citing reports that Carson was headed to Florida.

Carson called on Cruz to address the situation.

“If he didn’t know about this, he needs to get rid of the people who were responsible for that,” Carson said. “And if he did know about it, then he needs to — he needs to come out and admit what he did and try to offer a solution.”

Carson said that he would have done better in Iowa if Cruz supporters had not interfered.

“I got calls from several people who told me their internal intelligence said that I was going to do extraordinarily well,” he told Fox News.

Latest Livewire
Comments
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Associate Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: