A campaign spokesman for President Trump’s reelection effort says cancellation of several Republican primaries and caucuses is following precedent from other Republicans seeking reelection, rather than a ploy to quash growing political threats from GOP rivals.

Marc Lotter, Trump 2020 director of strategic communications, said on SiriusXM Patriot’s The David Webb Show the now-canceled contests in Arizona, Kansas, Nevada, and South Carolina are above-board efforts to save state parties money. That’s a markedly different interpretation from Trump’s main primary rivals — former South Carolina Governor and Rep. Mark Sanford, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, and former Rep. Joe Walsh of Illinois — who say the moves are meant to rig the primary season in the president’s favor, quashing dissent and eliminating voter choice.