The first test of this election cycle and the candidates are pulling out all the stops and bringing out all the family.
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Iowa offers only a small contingent of the delegates who will determine the nominees at each party’s national convention in July. The caucus results should also help cut down the crowded Republican field of almost a dozen candidates. A snowfall forecast to start Monday night appeared more likely to hinder the hopefuls in their rush out of Iowa than the voters.
A recent Monmouth University poll of likely Iowa caucus-goers found that, of the 45 percent of likely caucus-goers who’d been contacted personally by a campaign 13 percent had been contacted about Trump, versus 25 percent for Cruz. Ted Cruz at 23 percent and Florida Sen. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, with more than 21,000 Iowans referencing him on Facebook, is a distant third. Despite his 3 percent in the Register poll, in a tight race between Mr. Sanders and Ms. Clinton, the backing of his supporters could be the difference.
By comparison, the only other candidate who made more than half of Americans anxious was Hillary Clinton with 35 percent saying she would make them “very anxious” and 16 percent “somewhat” anxious – a total of 51 percent, the same amount who would be made “very anxious” by the prospect of President Trump.
On Sunday, Sanders said the enthusiasm he’s generated behind his insurgent candidacy will motivate irregular and first-time voters to participate, which he asserted will propel him and other Democrats to victory. The next most unfavorably viewed candidate, Hillary Clinton, was viewed as a “poor” or “terrible” potential president by 44 percent of voters.
“I actually switched jobs so I could work remotely and volunteer”, she said.
“Fortunately for all of us, she embraced her mother’s politics and never quite gave up her father’s hard-headedness”, he said to delighted laughter. “And so we feel really good about our chances, we feel really good about our reach and I think you’re going to have a surprise on a caucus night”.
“I would say this [Trump speech] would influence and probably what he has to say tomorrow night would probably influence [my vote] as well,”18-year-old Council Bluffs resident Keyan McCalbrey said, adding that Cruz was in his top three but changed his mind and narrowed it down to Trump, Rubio, and Paul”.
The weather could also affect how soon the candidates can get out of Iowa for their next date with voters: New Hampshire.
The Sanders campaign announced Sunday, one day before the Iowa caucuses, that it raised $20 million in January with an average contribution of just $27.
Cruz has modeled his campaign after past Iowa winners, visiting all of the state’s 99 counties and courting influential evangelical and conservative leaders. “If somebody has no money and they’re lying in the middle of the street and they’re dying, I’m going to take care of that person”.
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“Donald did not want his record challenged”, Cruz said, explaining why Trump skipped Thursday’s Republican debate. “Amnesty. The Republican Obama”. “He’s very entertaining, but this campaign isn’t about that”, Rubio said. Following Trump are Ted Cruz with 12 percent, Marco Rubio with 11 percent, John Kasich with 9 percent, Chris Christie with 8 percent, and Jeb Bush with 6 percent.
