In tight race, Cruz and Trump make final appeals to Iowans

“With one day until the Iowa caucuses, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Sunday distinguished himself from front-runner Hillary Clinton, touting his lack of a super-PAC and pointing to the energy coursing through his campaign”.

The influential Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll released on Saturday showed a tight race, with Trump receiving 28 percent of the support of likely Iowa caucus-goers and Cruz 23 percent.

The poll showed the billionaire gaining momentum.

Clinton, a former secretary of state, senator and first lady, clung to a narrow 45 percent to 42 percent lead over Sanders, putting the senator from Vermont in position for a potential shock win that would be a harsh blow to Clinton.

DES MOINES, Iowa Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on Sunday jockeyed for the crucial conservative vote before the first USA presidential nominating contest in Iowa on Monday, sparring over health care, voting records and a Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.

Hovering in third place among Republicans is Senator Marco Rubio, whose star is seen as rising perhaps just at the right time.

The Sanders campaign, for example, has urged their college-aged supporters to “Go Home for Bernie”, an effort to move votes from densely populated urban college towns to less populated suburban and rural communities where Sanders could benefit more from marginal support.

There are reasons for Trump to feel secure at the top: his supporters are the most confident among the top three candidates, with 71 per cent saying they’ve decided, compared to 61 per cent for Cruz and 47 per cent for Rubio.

As expected, all the candidates crisscrossed the state in a bid to drum up support and interest before the prelude to 2016 presidential elections kicks off. It was reported that there was the usual drama in Trump’s campaign as he had security throw out a small group of protesters.

Mr Trump turned the tables on Mr Cruz, the conservative Texas senator who appeals to the hard-right Tea Party faction and evangelical Christians, leapfrogging him in the poll.

But Mr Sanders has raised the issue of the large speaking fees and campaign donations that Mrs Clinton has received from leading financial firms and other corporations. However, Saturday’s results suggested his gamble paid off. Trump responded, “The truth is, no, I didn’t”.

“They say bad psychological things happen if you lose”, he said.

Cruz, who saw his lead in the state overtaken by Trump but may have a stronger turnout operation, also tried to lower expectations.

Despite his rank in the polls, Sen. Meanwhile, establishment-supported candidates like former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Florida Sen.

“Our Democratic candidates have agreed in principle to having the DNC sanction and manage additional debates in our primary schedule, inclusive of New Hampshire this week”, DNC Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz said in a statement Sunday. KPRC 2 meteorologist Justin Stapleton said the estimates call for 5 to 8 inches of snow.

“We’re going to look back on Iowa in March and April, and it’s going to seem like the Crimean War”, he said.

Trump said “I don’t have to win” in Iowa, before adding that he believes he has “a good chance” of a caucus victory. For the also-rans, it’s a matter of gritting one’s teeth and getting through the final huzzahs before quickly moving on to New Hampshire or (most likely for Huckabee and Santorum) getting out of the race altogether.