Clinton visits Iowa, Trump in N.H. as early voting gets underway

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are introduced during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton are introduced during the presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Monday, Sept. 26, 2016. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

WASHINGTON — With early voting poised to play a bigger role in this year's election, Hillary Clinton was urging voters in Iowa to start casting ballots Thursday, more than five weeks before Election Day.

Clinton's 10-city tour of Iowa brought the Democratic presidential nominee back to a state where she eked out a win in the caucuses over Bernie Sanders. With her focus now on defeating Donald Trump, Clinton was hoping that putting an emphasis on early voting could help her replicate President Barack Obama's successful strategy in the battleground state four years ago.

In Des Moines, Clinton planned a speech focused on child-care challenges faced by middle-class families. It's a traditionally Democratic issue that Trump has taken on recently, prompted largely by interest from his daughter, Ivanka.

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The Republican nominee was holding a rally Thursday in New Hampshire, a day after Clinton campaigned there with Sanders in an appeal to young voters. While Clinton sought to broaden her appeal to voters still on the fence, Trump was sticking with his strategy of focusing on the loyal base of working-class voters whose enthusiasm has driven his campaign.

Trump has brushed off critiques of his performance in the first presidential debate that have come from supporters and opponents alike. But in a nod to the concerns expressed by some Trump allies that he was insufficiently prepared, Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee released a "TRUMP Debate Preparation Survey" ahead of his second showdown with Clinton.

The survey, a gimmick intended to engage supporters online, asks whether Trump should use the second debate to criticize Clinton for her policies on terrorism, economics and trade — questions sure to elicit an enthusiastic "yes" from Trump backers. Absent was any inquiry about whether Trump should bring up former President Bill Clinton's infidelities, as he's repeatedly threatened to do.

Read Friday's Arkansas Democrat-Gazette for full details.

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