Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee slammed Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, one of his former GOP presidential rivals, saying he engaged in "sleazy politics" in Iowa.
In his podcast this week, Huckabee went after the Cruz campaign for putting out the word on caucus night that neurosurgeon Ben Carson was dropping out of the race and that his supporters should vote for Cruz,
BuzzFeed reported.
"I can attest to the fact that even in our campaign there were many efforts to try and say that people shouldn't vote for me or Rick Santorum or Ben Carson," Huckabee said. "The Cruz people said it would be a wasted vote and they should vote for Cruz."
Huckabee admitted none of the candidates targeted would have won anyway, but said, "it is the kind of low-life, sleazy politics people truly get sick of."
Huckabee said that although Cruz apologized to Carson, he "deflected blame to CNN," saying the news channel had reported Carson had quit the race.
"Dr. Carson, being a good Christian, accepted the apology on a personal level, but he didn’t buy Cruz’s claims of innocent intentions," Huckabee said.