The first-in-the nation presidential nominating contest in Iowa was set for a close finish on Monday night as Republican Donald Trump and Democrat Hillary Clinton, holding on to narrow leads, made their final campaign pitch as did their rivals across the small Midwestern State that commands a disproportionately large influence on the race to the White House.
After a feverish campaign, with far too many Republicans in the fray, the Iowa caucuses were projected to witness a big turnout, aided by relatively better weather till the close with a snowstorm predicted to get under way a couple of hours later.
“I think it’s going to be a record turnout, just judging from all the candidates we have and the turnout they’re getting at their rallies,” Iowa’s Republican Governor Terry Branstad said in an interview, adding: “Then, you add the Trump factor, and that’s a whole new dimension that we haven’t had before. I think we’re going to shatter the record.”
The caucuses will commence at 7 p.m. CST (6.30 a.m. Tuesday India time), with Democrats gathering at some 1,100 locations and Republicans at nearly 900 spots. The caucuses, run by the respective parties, are expected to last a few hours, depending on the turnout.
As of Monday morning, a RealClearPolitics (RCP) average of various Iowa polls put Trump at 28.6 per cent, followed by Cruz with 23.9 per cent and Senator Marco Rubio with 16.9 per cent. All the other nine Republican candidates were in single digit.
On the Democratic side, Senator Sanders, who has run one of the most energetic campaigns all through, hoped to defy the polls and pull off an upset victory over Clinton, who leads with 47.9 per cent in the RCP average as against his own 43.9 per cent.
The Trump-Ted Cruz warfare, meanwhile, hit a new low as the billionaire businessman slammed the Texas Senator “a liar” on TV shows, while the Clinton-Bernie Sanders exchanges acquired a new sharpness even while remaining civil.
Calling Cruz a “nasty guy”, Trump said on ABC’s “This Week” show: “This is why nobody likes him. This is why he doesn’t have one endorsement from one senator. Not one.” In contrast, as one having been in business, he himself can offer sound leadership as one who has got along well with Republicans and Democrats, conservatives and liberals, he suggested.
“I’m feeling great,” Clinton told CNN on Monday. On the campaign trail, Clinton has projected herself to be the most experienced and prepared of all candidates, both Democratic and Republican, for the top job. She has dismissed several of Sanders’ radical proposals, including his version of universal health care, as impractical.
But the Sanders’ campaign remained upbeat. “I think we have a shot to win it, if people come out,” Sanders told ABC News, and asked Iowans to turn out in large numbers and help him “make history”.