The businessman, who came in second in Iowa, tweets that Cruz committed fraud by telling voters that Ben Carson was quitting the race

This article is more than 4 years old

This article is more than 4 years old

Donald Trump has claimed Ted Cruz committed “fraud” in his successful campaign to win the Republican Iowa caucuses on Monday, and has called for a new election.

The businessman, who came in second in Iowa, tweeted:

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Based on the fraud committed by Senator Ted Cruz during the Iowa Caucus, either a new election should take place or Cruz results nullified.

Earlier, Trump accused Cruz of “stealing” the election in the key state, the first to vote in this stage of the 2016 presidential election.

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) Ted Cruz didn't win Iowa, he stole it. That is why all of the polls were so wrong and why he got far more votes than anticipated. Bad!

He accused the Cruz campaign of telling Iowa voters that fellow candidate Ben Carson was quitting the race so he could steal Carson’s votes.

“During primetime of the Iowa Caucus, Cruz put out a release that @RealBenCarson was quitting the race, and to caucus (or vote) for Cruz,” Trump wrote. “Many people voted for Cruz over Carson because of this Cruz fraud. Also, Cruz sent out a VOTER VIOLATION certificate to thousands of voters.

“The Voter Violation certificate gave poor marks to the unsuspecting voter (grade of F) and told them to clear it up by voting for Cruz. Fraud.”

He added that “Cruz strongly told thousands of caucusgoers (voters) that Trump was strongly in favor of Obamacare and ‘choice’ – a total lie!”

Trump calls for Iowa do-over after second-place finish – campaign live Read more

Cruz had issued an apology of sorts to the Carson campaign for spreading the rumor on election night that Carson was dropping out of the race, which Cruz characterized as an honest “mistake”:



“Last night when our political team saw the CNN post saying that Dr Carson was not carrying on to New Hampshire and South Carolina, our campaign updated grassroots leaders just as we would with any breaking news story,” Cruz said in a statement on Tuesday.

“That’s fair game. What the team then should have done was send around the follow-up statement from the Carson campaign clarifying that he was indeed staying in the race when that came out.”

In addition, the Texas senator and his presidential campaign were formally denounced by top state officials for sending mailers to Iowa voters accusing them of a “voting violation” – in an apparent effort to scare voters to the polls.



The mailers included a voting score and included the phrase “official public record”. They referred to the recipients by name, and also their neighbors, as part of a broader attempt to shame them for not having participated in prior elections.



Some campaign observers criticized Trump for decrying what was simply politics as usual. Stuart Stevens, a former strategist for 2012 Republican candidate Mitt Romney, wrote:

stuart stevens (@stuartpstevens) Is it really legal for 8 year old to run for President? @realDonaldTrump https://t.co/9cIQ4Uybrw

To beat John McCain in South Carolina in 2000, the George W Bush campaign used a Bible professor to spread a rumor that “McCain chose to sire children without marriage”. Lee Atwater helped George HW Bush beat Michael Dukakis in 1988 by cutting a racist commercial tying Dukakis to a rape and stabbing by convicted murderer Willie Horton while on furlough.