Accounting for the 9% difference in the Des Moines Register pre-election poll, showing real estate mogul Donald Trump up by 5% but losing to Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas) by 4%, Trump cried foul. With political pundits predicting a large turnout would favor Trump, Monday’s results were all the more vexing. Getting a day to digest the results, Trump now says Cruz used dirty tricks telling Iowa’s Caucus goers that GOP candidate retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson looks like he was taking time off from his campaign. Telling Iowa voters the night of the Caucus that Carson was essentially dropping out, Cruz diverted Carson’s voters to himself. “Ted Cruz didn’t win Iowa, he stole it,” Tweeted Trump, accounting for Cruz’s unexpected win. “That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far move votes than anticipated. Bad!” raising doubts about Cruz’s Iowa victory.
Moving on to New Hampshire, there’s little Trump can do to reverse Monday night’s results. “Based on the fraud committed by Senator Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified,” said Trump, more wishful thinking than reality. Packing the precincts with more that 12,000 volunteers and 15,000 precinct captains, Cruz gained a huge advantage over all GOP candidates, including Trump, whose ground-game had been questioned by political junkies. Whatever lies Cruz promoted in campaign ads leading up to Iowa isn’t fraud, other than telling political fibs. “And finally, Cruz strongly told thousands of caucus-goers [voters] that Trump was strongly in favor of Obamacare and ‘choice’—a total lie, Trump said. Whatever lies or distortions Cruz says in campaign ads don’t constitute fraud or anything considered illegal.
Understanding the Caucus process, it’s possible for Cruz’s captains to not recount votes at different precincts, certifying more votes for Cruz than actually counted. Packing the precincts with 12,000 volunteers and 15,000 precinct captains increases the chances of shenanigans, especially when it comes to final counts. Democratic candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), running a tight race against former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, raised the very real possibility that Clinton’s backers packed the precincts and inflated her voter totals with voters from outside state lines. Trump’s best argument against Cruz involves nefarious activities at precincts packed with volunteers loyal to the Texas senator. Trump has a valid point that if Carson voters thought he dropped out the logical place they’d go would be Cruz. That dynamic could have swung the vote significantly on Caucus Day.
Raising potential Cruz’s voter fraud issues in New Hampshire, Trump hopes to introduce more doubt about Cruz’s credibility. “Breaking News. The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week,” a Cruz email read the night of the Iowa Caucus. “Please inform any Carson caucus-goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz,” providing the most compelling proof of a deliberate attempt to drive Carson voters to Cruz on Caucus Day. “For months, my campaign has survived the lies and dirty tricks from my opponents who profess to detest the games of the political class, but in reality they are masters of it,” said Carson, ripping the Cruz campaign for announcing he was suspending his campaign the night before the Iowa Caucuses. Cruz has a lot of explaining to do to New Hampshire voters.
Carson denounced the Cruz campaign tactics as dirty tricks designed to alter the outcome of the Iowa race. “Carson looks like he’s out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope,” Tweeted Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), chair of Cruz’s Iowa campaign. Carson’s steps were “equivalent to suspending,” King Tweeted only minutes after the Monday nigh Caucus opened. Whatever apologies the Cruz campaign makes, it’s after the fact, not knowing how many votes were siphoned off from Carson because of Cruz’s disinformation. “Breaking News. The press is reporting that Dr. Ben Carson is taking time off from the campaign trail after Iowa and making a big announcement next week,” emailed Cruz campaign staffer Spence Rogers before the Iowa Caucus “Please inform any Carson Caucus goers of this news and urge them to caucus for Ted Cruz.”
Trump’s got a valid point about how the Cruz campaign floated a speculative news story to siphon away Carson votes when Caucus voting began. How many voters Carson lost and Cruz gained is anyone’s guess. Blaming the matter of speculation in the media, the Cruz campaign only reluctantly apologized but took no action against any member of the campaign. With the damage done, the only benefit to raising the issue now is exposing Cruz’s dirty tricks. “Shameless tactics & dirty political plays defined yesterday #caucus,” Tweeted Carson. “There’s no place for this kind of behavior.” “Yet another #Trumpertantrum,” Cruz re-Tweeted, dismissing the charges as just sour grapes. Cruz ignores completely Carson’s denunciation of dirty politics, instead playing to his base to blame Trump. As the media digs more deeply, the Cruz campaign—or his Iowa win—won’t look too good.
