Ron DeSantis Reprimanded by Republican Women in Key Primary State

Ron DeSantis was called out by a Republican women's group in early-voting New Hampshire after scheduling an event on the same day and time as a major fundraiser for the group headlined by his chief political rival, Donald Trump.

And the decision has driven the group apart.

In a statement Thursday, the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women (NHFRW) criticized the Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful for an alleged attempt to "pull focus" from the group's annual Lilac Luncheon in Concord later this month.

The event, they said, was a significant fundraiser for the organization and a key stop for candidates seeking to court Republicans' favor ahead of the state's critical first-in-the-nation primary. Earlier this week, the group announced it had officially sold out of tickets for the June 27 event in what the organization described as the largest Lilac Luncheon crowd in the organization's near-80-year history.

Several days later, however, Fox News reported DeSantis planned to hold an event in nearby Hollis at the exact same date and time as the luncheon, bucking a longstanding tradition in New Hampshire politics not to overshadow events put on by in-state organizations.

NHFRW leadership was quick to reprimand DeSantis for the decision.

"The Lilac Luncheon is the preeminent fundraiser of the largest grassroots Republican women's organization in the state and funds go directly to electing, educating, and empowering Granite State Republican Women running for state and local offices," Elizabeth Girard, the group's president, said in a statement.

"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."

Other members of the group put their grievances with the governor in more direct terms.

"To have a candidate come in and distract from the most special event NHFRW holds in the year is unprecedented," events director Christine Peters said in the statement.

Not everyone in the organization, however, was pleased with the statement.

On Thursday evening, the DeSantis campaign began publicizing statements from several members of the group criticizing the statement, saying it was published over their heads and without their consultation.

Kate Day, the group's public relations chair, and Melissa Blasek, a dues-paying member of the group, published statements late Thursday afternoon resigning their positions within the organization, with Day saying the statement was a clear violation of the organization's longstanding policy of neutrality toward the candidates.

"Clearly this is motivated by the Trump campaign and it is bewildering to me that our president would take part in such a cheap campaign stunt," Blasek said in a statement posted on Twitter Thursday evening.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump and DeSantis campaigns, as well as NHFRW leadership, via email for comment.

DeSantis' transgression will likely be seen as a hive of bees he probably did not want to kick as he seeks to gain his footing against the persistent popularity of the former president.

Numerous polls in recent months have shown DeSantis underwater not only with female independents, but Republican women, as well. A survey conducted by YouGov and The Economist earlier this month showed DeSantis polling at just 17 percent with female GOP primary voters, far below his 26 percent performance with GOP males.

And his policies are largely to blame.

According to Data for Progress polling evaluated by Newsweek earlier this year, six of DeSantis' key policies as Florida's governor—including strict bans on abortion and opposition to public funding for programs like women's and gender studies—were rejected by a majority of women across party lines. The polling casts additional doubts about his viability in an electoral environment where suburban women proved critical to President Joe Biden's success in the 2020 presidential election.

Other polls conducted by special interest groups like MomsRising earlier this year found other policies backed by DeSantis, including bans on books containing content on race and gender identity, also suffered from poor approval ratings with Republican women.

"This new national survey makes it very clear that the DeSantis agenda is not moms' agenda, or women's agenda," Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Executive Director and CEO of MomsRising said in a statement about the findings.

Update: 6/23/23, 10:35 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with comments from NHFRW members with disagreed with the group's statement, and additional information.