The New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women (NHFRW) has expressed disappointment in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis after his campaign opted to host an event in the early primary state on the same day as their 76th Lilac Luncheon, which will feature former President Donald Trump as the special guest.
The luncheon takes place in Concord on Tuesday — the same day DeSantis is slated to hold a town hall in Hollis, New Hampshire — roughly 40 miles from Trump’s event.
The competitive nature of these dueling events was not lost on the NHFRW, which released a letter in the wake of the news, expressing “disappointment with the DeSantis campaign for scheduling a Town Hall Meeting in Hollis in opposition to their historic Lilac Luncheon.”
The organization’s president, Elizabeth Girard, noted that the Lilac Luncheon is the “preeminent fundraiser of the largest grassroots Republican women’s organization in the state and funds raised go directly to electing, educating, and empowering Granite State Republican women running for state and local offices.”
“This attempt to pull focus from our Lilac Luncheon only diminishes the efforts of the Republican women in New Hampshire who are volunteers, working hard to provide opportunities for our membership to have access to all the candidates,” she added.
Secretary Emily Tomasi noted that other presidential hopefuls coming into the state this week “recognize the longstanding tradition of this special event and have graciously scheduled around it, allowing NHFRW and its members the opportunity to showcase all that we are doing for Republican Women in the First in the Nation Primary Process.”
Others, including events director Christine Peters, added that it has “always been a New Hampshire hallmark to be considerate when scheduling events,” noting that DeSantis’s action is “unprecedented.”
The letter, however, did note that the NHRFW is remaining “neutral” in the primary and look forward to hosting major GOP primary candidates.
“We would kindly ask the DeSantis campaign to reschedule their Town Hall to not directly conflict with the Lilac Luncheon and respect the efforts of our organization,” the letter added:
According to Politico, which on Monday published an article highlighting some of DeSantis’s missteps in the Granite State, “DeSantis world was quick to dismiss the group’s complaints, saying their event shouldn’t be a distraction since it’s in a different part of the state and at a different time than when Trump is speaking, and that the federation’s soiree is already sold out”:
But DeSantis’ opponents were already weaponizing the exchange.
“If there’s one thing you don’t do in New Hampshire, it’s piss off the grassroots women,” said an adviser to a rival candidate granted anonymity to speak freely. “Don’t mess with them, they remember everything. Rookie move.”
However, NHFRW’s statement upset some within the organization, including now former PR chair, who resigned from her position after taking issue with the “negative statement against a candidate,” which she believes violated the organization’s neutrality policy:
Recent surveys show Trump continuing to lead in New Hampshire. A New Hampshire Journal–Coefficient poll released this month, for instance, showed Trump leading, having the backing of 47 percent of likely GOP New Hampshire voters. DeSantis falls 34 points behind, with 13 percent support:
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.