WEST DES MOINES, Iowa -- Presidential contenders spent Sunday drumming up support ahead of today's Iowa caucuses, the nation's first contest in the 2016 race for the White House.
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The result Sunday was a blur of sometimes conflicting messages. Even as the candidates begged backers to caucus, many hopefuls also tried to lower expectations and look ahead to the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 9 and later contests.
Republican Donald Trump predicted that "many" senators "soon" would endorse him rather than their Texas colleague, Ted Cruz. Trump didn't name any such senators and none immediately emerged.
"I have great endorsements, and many, many more are coming, I will tell you," Trump said, adding that Cruz "doesn't have one endorsement from one senator."
Democrat Hillary Clinton, in a tight race with Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, suggested that political point-scoring helped explain the hubbub over the State Department's announcement Friday that it was withholding some emails on the home server she used while secretary of state.
One development -- the weather -- was beyond the candidates' control. A snowfall forecast to start tonight appeared more likely to hinder the hopefuls in their rush out of Iowa. Republican John Kasich already has moved to New Hampshire.
Meantime, on the final full day before the caucus, a pastor at a church outside Des Moines urged politicians to treat their opponents with love and not attack ads.
With Cruz and his family in the audience, pastor Mike Housholder of Lutheran Church of Hope played two parody attack ads questioning the faith of church members. There is a better way, he said -- by speaking the truth with love. If you can't do that, he said, don't speak.
Trump, meanwhile, attended mass Sunday in the nondenominational church First Christian Orchard Campus in Council Buffs with his wife and two staffers. The billionaire took communion when it was passed, but momentarily confused, he mistook the silver plates being circulated around the auditorium, and dug several bills out of his pocket.
"I thought it was for offering," he said with a laugh to his staff.
All about the turnout
The candidates' agreed on one thing: It's all about turnout now.
"If people come out to vote, I think you're going to look at one of the biggest political upsets in the modern history of our country," Sanders told CNN's State of the Union.
Clinton said she had been subjected to "years of scrutiny, and I'm still standing." On ABC's This Week, she said, "I feel vetted ... and I think I'm the best person to be the nominee and to defeat whoever they nominate in November."
The State Department on Friday disclosed that Clinton's private server held 22 emails that included top-secret information and are being withheld from release.
Sanders, who said during the first Democratic presidential debate in October that Americans are "sick and tired" of questions about Clinton's use of a private server, referred to it after he was asked about criticism from some prominent Democrats that he can't win a general election as a self-described socialist.
"I am not attacking Hillary Clinton on that issue," Sanders said on This Week. "Republicans, needless to say, have a different point of view on that.
"In terms of what people are going to get slapped with, look at the front pages today in terms of what Secretary Clinton is getting slapped with."
Clinton has received family help as the countdown to the caucuses winds down.
Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, and daughter, Chelsea Clinton, appeared with the candidate Saturday at a rally in Cedar Rapids.
"What we need is a plan, and a commitment," Hillary Clinton told supporters at the rally.
"And you!" a woman called out.
"And me, yes, thank you," Clinton finished.
Bill Clinton has settled into his role as booster-in-chief. He lays off the policy, leaving that to his wife. He focuses instead on what he knows "about the job."
"There are certain, almost intangible qualities that determine whether a president succeeds or not," Clinton said. "You need a sticker. A sticker: someone who won't quit on you."
"She's the best at that I've ever known," he added.
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio spent the day canvassing for Clinton in Indianola, Iowa.
"I wanted to do exactly the kind of stuff I've done in the past," de Blasio said, referring to his past work in Iowa as a local organizer in the 2004 and 2008 presidential elections. "Knocking on doors, phone calls, like, real work. That's what I consider the natural thing to do."
Trump Confident
Trump said "I don't have to win" in Iowa, before adding that he believes he has "a good chance" of victory.
He said he was confident of taking New Hampshire and many other contests down the road. On CBS' Face the Nation, he cited Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Florida, along with strong hopes for New York and Virginia. All come after the traditional first four states -- Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada -- that vote in February.
Cruz is conceding nothing.
"What we're seeing is the old Reagan coalition coming together. ... And if conservatives come out, we're going to win tomorrow," the Texas senator told Fox News Sunday.
Cruz directed much of his final advertising against Marco Rubio of Florida as the senators' feud intensifies.
Cruz challenged the conservative credentials of Rubio.
One ad said of Rubio: "Tax hikes. Amnesty. The Republican Obama."
Rubio countered on CNN that Cruz is "always looking to take whatever position it takes to win votes or raise money."
"If you are going to campaign as the most principled, the most consistent conservative, then your record better support that," said Rubio's senior strategist Todd Harris. "As long as he holds himself out to be holier than thou on all things conservative, we're going to continue to point out that he's not."
Trump has repeatedly called Cruz a liar in recent days. Chris Christie calls him a flip-flopper. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, who won Iowa's caucus in 2008, has seized on reports that Cruz told a group of New York donors last year that he wouldn't make fighting gay marriage a priority if elected. That's in sharp contrast with his public promises to fight the Supreme Court's decision.
"He's saying one thing to a group of folks in Marshalltown (Iowa), something totally different to a group of folks in Manhattan," said Huckabee spokesman Hogan Gidley. "Voters want someone they can trust. And it is painfully obvious at this point that Ted Cruz can't be trusted."
Fundraising reports
Sanders said his campaign raised more than $20 million in January, as financial disclosure forms for the month were due Sunday.
Clinton's campaign has already said that it raised $37 million in the final three months of the year for the primaries, while a super PAC supporting her, Priorities USA, said that it had raised almost $10 million in January. The group also said it has an additional $42 million in fundraising commitments and has a total of $45 million of cash on hand. Another group backing Clinton, American Bridge 21st Century, on Sunday reported that it raised $4.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2015.
Sanders received donations last month from more than 770,000 individual contributions, the average amount of which was $27, according to the campaign.
Christie raised nearly $3 million for his Republican presidential bid in the fourth quarter of 2015 and entered January with just over $1 million on hand, senior officials with his campaign said Sunday.
Christie's haul of $2.95 million in the final three months of the year lifts the total raised for his campaign to $7.16 million.
Trump loaned his political campaign more than $10 million in the last quarter of 2015, accounting for much of the $13.5 million he brought in toward the end of last year, according to federal documents. He has loaned more than $12 million to his campaign this election cycle.
In addition to the candidates, the outside political groups helping them -- super PACs -- were to turn in progress reports on their fundraising and spending.
Right to Rise, the super PAC supporting Jeb Bush, reported Sunday evening that it still had nearly $59 million to spend heading into 2016. The report did not include the heavy spending during the final weeks before the Iowa caucuses.
The group, which released its year-end report in a Tweet, said it has raised $118 million to date, including $15.1 million in the second half of 2015.
The chief super PAC helping Rubio raised more than $30 million last year. The group, Conservative Solutions PAC, shared its fundraising numbers ahead the required deadline to file with regulators. The PAC began the year with about $14 million.
Trump draws complaint
A former paid organizer for Trump who was fired in January has accused his presidential campaign of sex discrimination.
Elizabeth Mae Davidson, 26, who was the Trump campaign's field organizer in Davenport, Iowa's third-largest city, said in a discrimination complaint that men doing the same jobs were paid more and were allowed to plan and speak at rallies, while her requests to do so were ignored. She also said that when she and a young female volunteer met Trump at a rally in the summer, he told them, "You guys could do a lot of damage," referring to their looks.
The complaint was filed Thursday with the Davenport Civil Rights Commission.
In a telephone interview Sunday, Trump denied making the remark but did not address the other two allegations.
He criticized The New York Times for reporting the complaint the day before the caucuses, adding, "A story like this could damage my chances."
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas, Scott Bauer, Steve Peoples, Lisa Lerer, Tom Beaumont, Jill Colvin, Catherine Lucey, Laurie Kellman and Julie Bykowicz of The Associated Press; by Tim Higgins, Mark Niquette, Jennifer Epstein, Arit John, Margaret Talev, Ros Krasny and Victoria Stilwell of Bloomberg News; by Philip Rucker and Abby Phillip of The Washington Post; and by Trip Gabriel of The New York Times.
A Section on 02/01/2016