A year of political pregame gives way to a sprint into Iowa

With four weeks to go until voters head to the polls, the gloves are off and the heat is on.

“As of right now, if Cruz wins in Iowa he probably is the favorite to come in at least second in New Hampshire”, Buchanan told CBS News.

After several months of playing nice, candidates in this survival-of-the-fittest race have turned their fire on each other.

“In a campaign stop last Tuesday, the GOP front-runner said that his campaign was “$35 million” under budget, as he has not needed to spend on ads to get his message across via the media.

This suggests that reporting indicating that Cruz has wrapped up the support of Iowa Christian conservative leaders may have overstated the strength of his hold on that large faction of the Republican vote. Ben Carson, who has been fading fast in the polls, saw a significant campaign shakeup over the holidays.

Forget for a moment what became the George W. Bush presidency; remember instead his call in 2000 for “compassionate conservatism” – a slogan that would earn jeers at a Republican campaign event these days.

“I’ve predicted a lot of things, you have to say, including, ‘Get the oil, take the oil, keep the oil.’ Right?” What’s more, whenever the target of Trump’s attacks responds with justifiable umbrage, or the media chimes in on their behalf, it just reinforces the idea that Trump is a fearless truth teller in a world dominated by waffling, thin-skinned, self-important ninnies who think they’re better than everyone else. For Trump to do well in the early primaries would ultimately be disastrous for the Republican Party.

Ted Cruz is expected to raise a little more than $20 million in the fourth quarter, campaign aides said Saturday, a substantial haul that matches his rising poll numbers in Iowa and nationwide.

Kasich is airing his first television ad in New Hampshire this week, a spot that highlights his rough upbringing, personal resilience, and governing achievements.

One of my friends (A) have expressed in a discussion with me his dislike of Donald Trump. However, all your risk-related points with the Trump’s candidacy are valid.

A third-place finish in 2008 in Iowa completely disrupted Clinton’s strategy to win the Democratic nomination and she never could catch then-Illinois Sen. And, for the record, I think it’s possible (if not probable) that we go into Cleveland for the Republican National Convention in July with no candidate with enough delegates to be the nominee.

And that’s one of the reasons candidates have started to turn on one another. I’ve been saying that for three years, and everybody said, ‘Oh, I can’t do that.

“It’s sad to see Jeb’s “joyful” campaign reduced to such intellectual dishonesty”, Rubio spokesman Alex Conant said of the ad.

“What are you doing standing here all night if you’re not going to vote?”

In response, Rubio questioned Christie’s time away from his home state gubernatorial duties.

The Texas Senator has not been to New Hampshire since November, but he is planning an all-out blitz of the state later this month, pegged to a January 17 bus tour that will take him to every corner of the state.

Donald Trump’s supporters may relish the idea that he is not a typical politician and argues against political correctness, but it is that attitude that has divided him from the rest of America.

In the wide-ranging speech, Trump bounced briskly around campaign topics and cited positive election surveys to applause from the crowd. The campaign is also building out their field team for a late push: More than 40 volunteers are moving into the Cruz campaign’s volunteer housing beginning Monday. He released a new video labeling Trump the “chaos candidate”.

This is the first article in a three-part series on the Republican Party and the US Presidential race. Most of us have not followed Cruz closely and the positions that he has taken. Republicans and other politicos are bracing for a tough winter ahead.