Based on early polling — Underdogs Sanders and O’Malley each might have a chance at victory in Iowa — Depends on continued impact of “Clinton Cash” and other scandals
Likely Democrat caucus goers are concerned that Benghazi, the Secretary of State’s use of the Clintons’ private email server, and “Clinton Cash” revelations will continue to loom over Mrs. Clinton — While Hillary and the Clinton Campaign have resisted addressing the scandals and repeatedly dodged questions from the media
Even some Clinton supporters in Iowa believe caucuses will be hard fought — “We Democrats are a bit addicted to controversy and to conflict and to competition...”
A Breitbart News report indicates that “[r]oughly 66 percent of likely Democratic caucus goers say one of the scandals looming over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign could hurt her if she were to become the Democratic Party’s nominee in the 2016 general election....” (See “Iowa Poll: Underdogs Sanders and O’Malley’s Path to Victory Leads Through Clinton Cash” by Alex Swoyer, 6/1/15, Breitbart News/ Government
[http://www.breitbart.com/big-government/2015/06/01/iowa-poll-underdogs-sanders-and-omalleys-path-to-victory-leads-through-clinton-cash/]).
The Breitbart piece goes on to say that, “... [t]hat 66 percent number—if used effectively by just-declared former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley or Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont—could prove catastrophic for the ex-First Lady, former U.S. Senator, and the nation’s former top diplomat....” That’s according to Tony Leys reporting on a new Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics poll of 437 likely Democratic caucus-goers in Iowa conducted by Selzer & Company from May 25 to May 29, with a margin of error of 4.7 percent (See also “Iowa Poll shows big Clinton lead, but also some worries” by Tony Leys, 6/1/15, The Des Moines Register [http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/elections/presidential/caucus/2015/06/01/iowa-poll-democrats-hillary-clinton-controversies/28279617/]).
Even though many Democrats might not be bothered by the scandals personally, they have expressed concerns about the political effects, which could be exploited by the opposition in the general election.
Meanwhile, O’Malley and Sanders both seek to outflank Clinton on the left. In a written piece that’s gotten some other media attention, Radio Iowa noted that both Sanders and O’Malley are drew sizable crowds as they traveled in and through Iowa on Sunday and Monday, last week (See “Crowds turn out to see Clinton challengers Sanders, O’Malley in Iowa” by O. Kay Henderson, 5/31/15, Radio Iowa blog [http://www.radioiowa.com/2015/05/31/crowds-turn-out-to-see-clinton-challengers-sanders-omalley-in-iowa/]).
According to the Radio Iowa report, “[t]he two Democrats who have formally emerged to challenge Hillary Clinton for their party’s 2016 presidential nomination visited Iowa this weekend. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders attracted overflow crowds in Ames and Davenport, then Sanders capped his three-day trip with a Saturday night stop in Kensett, where more than 300 people greeted him....”
Elsewhere. “.... O’Malley delivered [a] subtle dig at the kind of events Clinton has held as he chatted with reporters in Des Moines Saturday night. O’Malley also answered 16 questions from the crowd of more than 200 people who’d crammed into his Iowa headquarters to hear his message. John Kaiser of Des Moines is retired but still active in the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades and he was there to see O’Malley. Kaiser’s ‘not real happy’ with the way Clinton has handled questions about U.S. trade negotiations.... Des Moines attorney Jerry Crawford, a long-time supporter of both Bill and Hillary Clinton, expects both O’Malley and Sanders to ‘run hard’ in Iowa — and he said Sanders already has become the “darling” of “philosophical purists” in the Democratic Party.... ‘We Democrats are a bit addicted to controversy and to conflict and to competition and so it was inevitable that this would happen,’ Crawford said during a weekend appearance on Iowa Public Television’s ‘Iowa Press’ program....”
