With just eight days left until the Iowa caucuses and less than two weeks until the New Hampshire primary, the pack of presidential hopefuls jumped eagerly back on the trail Wednesday after taking a day off for Christmas.
The frantic pace of the campaign is a reflection of poll numbers showing that both the Democratic and Republican contests are up for grabs.
Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, who have taken turns leading in Iowa, will campaign relentlessly in the Hawkeye State over the next several days while John Edwards, who is nipping at their heels there, held town hall meetings in New Hampshire to try to gain some ground in a state where he is further behind.
“It’s a three-way dogfight right now, no doubt about that,” said Jerry Crawford, a top campaign strategist for Clinton in Iowa.
Clinton’s campaign is describing the situation in Iowa as a “crucial hour-by-hour countdown” until the Jan. 3 caucuses.
The volatility of the poll numbers shows the fluidity of the Democratic race. A Dec. 24 survey of Iowans by the American Research Group found Clinton has jumped ahead of Obama by 14 percentage points in Iowa. Days earlier, the same poll gave Clinton only a four-point lead.
The poll indicated Obama trails Edwards by one point. According to the poll, Obama “lost ground among men” to Clinton and Edwards.
Obama, like Clinton, is in the midst of a campaign blitz in Iowa. He’ll make 28 campaign stops in Iowa between Dec. 26 and New Year’s Eve as part of his “Stand for Change Tour.”
Clinton will hold seven campaign events between Dec 26 and Dec. 27 under the theme “Time to Pick a President.” Bill Clinton will make three appearances in those two days.
Surging candidate John McCain will campaign in Iowa until Friday. He holds five town hall meetings in New Hampshire over the weekend. After basically writing off Iowa, McCain decided to plunge back in when his New Hampshire prospects suddenly improved.
While finishing strong in Iowa will be “difficult” for McCain, according to campaign manager Rick Davis, doing well could help him in New Hampshire, where he is running neck-and-neck with Mitt Romney.
Davis put out a memo to supporters that said the campaign strategy is “to win early and win big.”
Romney, who will appear in seven New Hampshire cities on Dec. 26 and Dec. 27, is clearly feeling the heat from McCain. He sent out a news release that included a 2003 quote from McCain calling for amnesty for illegal immigrants, a policy many conservative voters oppose.
