N.H. GOP group riled over dueling political events
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former president Donald Trump are both set to appear at late-morning events in New Hampshire on Tuesday, a split-screen moment that is ruffling the feathers of the Republican women’s group hosting Trump at their annual fund-raising luncheon that day.
DeSantis’ visit to the Granite State coincides with the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women’s Lilac Luncheon, a sold-out soirée featuring the former president, who is running his third presidential race.
The group publicly chastised DeSantis in a statement circulated on social media Thursday, saying his appearance in the state “diminishes the efforts of Republican women in New Hampshire.”
The group asked that the DeSantis campaign reschedule his Hollis, N.H., town hall, which will take place roughly 40 miles south of the luncheon in Concord. The group’s leaders said it’s “a New Hampshire hallmark to be considerate when scheduling events” and said that “other Republican candidates” coming to stump next week respected their long-standing event and scheduled accordingly.
Both events start at 10 a.m. A spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Neither did the Trump campaign nor the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women.
The luncheon, which was first held in 1944, is the group’s largest annual fund-raiser. The event has welcomed former presidents in the past and was headlined last year by former vice president Mike Pence, who is also running in the 2024 Republican primary.
“To have a candidate come in and distract from the most special event NHFRW holds in the year is unprecedented,” said Christine Peters, the group’s events director.
The group, which stays neutral in the Republican presidential primary, said it plans to host all of the major candidates before the first-in-the-nation primary in January.