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Richard Piatt and Andrew Adams reporting The last-minute scramble is on for the support of fewer than 300,000 people expected to turn up for the Iowa caucuses. Every vote may count, with polls showing a close race among front-running Republicans and Democrats.
The good news in Iowa is that the weather seems to be warming up a bit. Candidates are hoping that affects the turnout in a positive way, as the campaigns start to wind down and the caucuses wind up.
Overall, this has boiled down to a three-way fight for both the Democrats and Republicans. As of Wednesday, John McCain has a new ad and is going after Romney at events and on television. Romney is defending himself from both McCain and Mike Huckabee, who seems to be doing well in the polls right now as well. But Romney is still in the lead, according to the latest Des Moines Register poll.
For Democrats, Barack Obama is riding high after the Des Moines Register poll favored him. His main rival seems to be Hillary Clinton, who also has a new television ad out where she is emphasizing her experience and leadership. Finally, John Edwards is on the stump with a 36-hour campaign binge that makes no time for sleep. He's hoping this push will help boost the votes for him.
The caucuses that are going to be taking place Thursday evening are really the talk of Iowa right now. A lot of the people in this state are debating the candidates, trying to convince each other that their pick is, in fact, the right one.
As a matter of fact, when Eyewitness News was at Romney's campaign headquarters earlier Wednesday, four people were arrested after refusing to leave. They were protesting the Iraq war and chanting in the lobby of the offices. They were asking for Romney to end the war if he is elected, but it's not clear if they are, in fact, Romney supporters.
Meanwhile, there are a few people around town who just want it to be over with because practically every television ad that you see, every radio ad you hear, is a political ad. That's been going on for a while, and some people are tired of it. But at the same time, there are also a lot of people who are excited and want to caucus Thursday and have their voice be heard.
With all the hustle and bustle going on in the state, Iowa Gov. Chet Culver says he's just happy to be there. "We enjoy being a gracious host and, like you, we enjoy the chance to meet interesting people and nice people from all over the country and around the world," he said.
KSL Newsradio's Doug Wright and Andrew Adams are in Iowa providing live coverage, as is Eyewitness News's Richard Piatt. Tune in to Eyewitness News and KSL Newsradio 102.7 FM and 1160 AM today for updates in the caucuses.
