Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson accused his GOP rivals on Monday night of intentionally deceiving voters about his campaign, calling the tactics "dirty tricks."
"For months, my campaign has survived the lies and dirty tricks from opponents who profess to to detest the games of the political class, but in reality are masters at it," Carson said in a statement, according to The Hill. "Even tonight, my opponents resorted to political tricks by tweeting, texting and telling precinct captains to announce that I had suspended my campaign - in some cases asking caucus goers to change their votes."
Although Carson did not mention eventual Iowa caucus winner Ted Cruz by name, Carson staffers claimed that the Cruz campaign sent emails to supporters to spread false rumors at caucus sites that Carson had dropped out, so his supporters would caucus for another candidate, Time reported.
The Carson campaign is also pointing to a tweet from Rep. Steve King of Iowa, who endorsed Cruz, as evidence.
Carson looks like he is out. Iowans need to know before they vote. Most will go to Cruz, I hope. https://t.co/lW5Js50EMA
— Steve King (@SteveKingIA) February 2, 2016
However, Carson isn't receiving much help within his camp, either. On Monday night, the Carson campaign sent out a statement that the retired neurosurgeon would be returning to Florida after the Iowa contest to get more clothes.
"Dr. Ben Carson is not suspending his presidential campaign, which is stronger than ever," a statement sent out to reporters read, according to NBC News. "After spending 18 consecutive days on the campaign trail, Dr. Carson needs to go home and get a fresh set of clothes."
For their part, Cruz's team denies Carson's claims. "That's absurd," spokesperson Catherine Frazier told Time.
It remains unclear how much numeric effect the misinformation had on Carson's chances. He finished in fourth place with 9.3 percent of the vote. In recent weeks, Carson consistently polled with 10 percent for the Iowa contest.
