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Campaign panel: Caucuses still too close to call
12/26/2007

A panel of campaign surrogates at a recent Drake University-IowaPolitics.com event said the Iowa caucuses -- just days away -- are too close to call.

"I think this is a wide open race," said former Gov. Tom Vilsack, Hillary Clinton's national co-chair. "It is a close race. I don't think we can predict the outcome of it."

In past caucuses, Democrats' second choice has played a pivotal role in the outcome of the first stop in the presidential nominating process. Knowing that, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson has asked Iowa caucus-goers to be their second choice on Jan. 3. That is a strategy that could bode well for the governor, his Iowa campaign director Robert Becker said.

A panel surrogates for the six Democratic presidential candidates addressed the topic of the second choice at the seventh IowaPolitics.com-Drake University "Cookies and Conversation" event at Drake. Three Republican panelists also took the stage. They also agreed on the significance the traditional calendar plays in selecting the next president.

"He recognizes the process has to start somewhere," Mike Huckabee state co-chair Danny Carroll said. "Iowa has been good for Governor Huckabee."

Sen. John McCain is surging in Iowa after experiencing some campaign struggles in the summer.

"He strongly supports the retail campaigning," Sen. John McCain's Iowa director, Jon Seaton, said. "Iowans really take their responsibility seriously. It is interesting to see the states move up. If anything else, it underlines the importance of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina." A tape of the event is due to air on C-SPAN Friday at 7 p.m. Central time, 8 p.m. Eastern.


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