DeSantis Accuses AP Of Iowa “Election Interference”

January 16, 2024 Politics, Republicans

Florida Politics reports:

Ron DeSantis‘ spokesperson made national news by telling her followers to “drag” an Associated Press reporter a couple of years back. In South Carolina, the Florida Governor made his own moves to drag the AP, accusing them of “interference in the election” in Iowa by declaring Donald Trump the winner shortly after caucus meetings began.

These comments expanded on remarks made in Iowa last night after most votes had been counted, in which the Governor said the media “called the election before people even got a chance to vote,” but did not name the AP specifically.

“Why would you call the race before people have even voted? I just don’t understand how,” DeSantis said of the alleged “interference in the election.”

The Associated Press responds:

The Associated Press declared the former President the winner based on an analysis of initial returns as well as results of AP VoteCast, a survey of voters who planned to caucus on Monday night. Both showed Trump with an insurmountable lead. In traditional Primaries, AP does not declare a winner in any race before the last polls are scheduled to close in the contest.

The Iowa caucuses are different. There are no “polls” and no fixed time when all the voting ends. Instead, there is an 8 p.m. ET deadline for caucus voters to arrive at their location, at which point deliberations among caucusgoers begin behind closed doors.

For that reason, AP followed its past practice and did not make a “poll close” declaration of the winner on Monday night. Instead, AP reviewed returns from caucus sites across Iowa and declared Trump the winner only after those results, along with VoteCast and other evidence, made it unquestionably clear he had won.

The AP notes that they called the 2020 race for Trump at about the same time as they did last night. Multiple other major outlets made their own calls around the same time as the AP last night.



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