That means a Republican candidate could win a single delegate with as little as 1.67 percent of the vote, depending on how the rounding works out.
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Caucus workers check in voters prior to the Republican Party Caucus at Keokuk High School on February 1, 2016 in Keokuk, Iowa.
The caucuses are the moment of truth for Donald Trump.
Nearly 3 in 10 say experience is the most important quality in deciding which candidate to back.
Polls suggest that Republican Donald Trump has a narrow lead over Ted Cruz but both are well ahead of the others.
For the winners in Iowa, the prize will be valuable momentum in nominating battles that could stretch for months, while numerous losers on the Republican side quickly could begin dropping by the wayside.
Iowans often make their decisions late.
Reflecting his hyper-aggressive style Monday in Cedar Rapids, Trump said security warned him that someone in the crowd might throw a tomato at him. “People should not be attacking people”, he said in an interview with Ebony Magazine, apologizing for some of his more zealot-like fans. As Trump and Cruz eye first place, Florida Sen. “I’m feeling so energized!”
Red, white and blue banners with Cruz’s campaign slogans “Trusted” and “Cruzin’ to Victory” are hanging from the ceiling of the Elwell Family Food Center at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. “But they supported me coming up here to volunteer”, she said, phone in hand.
Asked whether he’ll stay in the race if he doesn’t emerge in the top three, Carson said he will reassess the situation no matter where he places.
The billionaire also took on Democratic critics, protesters and journalists during his tumultuous campaign.
Cardin has already endorsed Clinton; Menendez has not (though he was an early backer in her 2008 campaign). “But I’m really surprised he’s gotten this much traction”.
Hawkeye Staters are making the final push to their neighbors to kick off the 2016 presidential election.
The weather should play into Trump’s favor.
This year’s election has been shaping up to be the year of angry voters, as Americans worry about issues such as immigration, terrorism, income inequality and health care, fuelling the campaigns of Mr Trump, Mr Sanders and Mr Cruz.
Clinton’s camp has put Sanders’s recent comments that the USA should “move as aggressively as we can to normalize relations with Iran” at the center of this strategy. The first-term Texas senator now heads to New Hampshire with clear support from a base of the most conservative Republicans, a position of strength for drawing in evangelical voters and others who prioritize an abrupt break with President Barack Obama’s policies.
The Des Moines Register will also feature live video on its website here, though the feed won’t launch until the caucuses actually begin. Trump holds a commanding lead.
Hovering in third place among Republicans is Senator Marco Rubio, whose star is seen as rising perhaps just at the right time.
At most, a few hundred thousand people are expected to attend, highlighting the importance of voter turnout in an Iowa race where success can be the bedrock to a candidate’s long-term success.
Sanders is at 49 percent and Clinton at 46 percent, according to Quinnipiac University.
Clinton is positioning herself as the most qualified commander in chief and the best person to save Obama’s legacy. Bernie Sanders has run the campaign he wants to run, noting, simply, “we have differences”.
Clinton was seeking to overcome the ghosts of her loss to Obama in 2008. I am so against Obamacare.
“It’s not going to be as good for business as crony capitalism”, Hall said. “I don’t even know where he gets this”.
Monday is also Trump’s first time on the ballot.
His closest rival, Cruz, has modeled his campaign after past Iowa winners, visiting all of the state’s 99 counties and courting influential evangelical and conservative leaders. A defeat would cast doubt on his wider appeal in the delegate-rich Southern states he hopes could pave the way to the nomination.
Cruz, who spent almost two weeks trading barbs with Donald Trump and Marco Rubio, dealt with them briskly in Marion. “We’ve been knocking on doors, talking to the Iowans about Ted Cruz”.
CNN reported that Clinton led 51 percent to 48 percent with 42 percent of the caucus sites reporting, with former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley polling at just above 0 percent.
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At the Sanders rally, supporter after supporter took the podium to remind voters of how far they’ve come, but no one with the Harkin’s stature predicted victory.
