Republicans Donald Trump and Ted Cruz on Sunday jockeyed for the crucial conservative vote before the first U.S. presidential nominating contest in Iowa on Monday, sparring over health care, voting records and a Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay marriage.
Trump, the billionaire New York real estate developer who has previously said same-sex marriage was the law of the land, told Fox News that if elected, he would seek to appoint judges who could overturn the ruling.
"If I'm elected, I would be very strong in putting certain judges on the bench who maybe could change things. But we have a long way to go," Trump said, saying the U.S. Supreme Court should have let states decide the issue for themselves.
Trump has maintained a narrow lead over Cruz, the Texas senator, ahead of the caucuses in the mid-western state, the first real test for candidates in a year in which outsiders have upended establishment politics.
The influential Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa poll released on Saturday showed a tight race, with Trump receiving 28 percent of the support of likely Iowa caucus-goers and Cruz 23 percent. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida was overwhelmingly the third choice, at 15 percent.
Cruz hammered away at Trump on Sunday, saying in an interview with NBC News' "Meet the Press," voters "can't get burned again" and must back a rock-solid conservative.
"They're looking for a consistent conservative. Someone they can trust to be a fiscal conservative, a social conservative, a national security conservative," Cruz said.
Cruz told the "Fox News Sunday" program Trump was seeking to expand President Barack Obama's landmark health care law and essentially shared the position of Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton on a key bellwether issue for conservatives.
Ten Republicans and three Democrats are campaigning in Iowa for their parties' nominations, but much of the focus has been on the fight between Cruz and Trump and their uneasy relationship with the Republican establishment.
Trump described Cruz as a "nasty guy" who had not scored key endorsements in the Senate, and would have trouble leading change in Washington.
"Nobody likes him and... you can't run a country that way...it will be a total mess. It will be worse gridlock than you have right now." Trump said in an interview with ABC's "This Week."
Cruz continued his tear into Trump on CNN's State of the Union, calling Trump's decision not to appear onstage at Thursday night's Republican debate "a real mistake," and likening the billionaire businessman's view's to those of Obama and self-described Democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.
"I think it was because he didn't want his record questioned," Cruz said.
"I get that it is unpleasant to have your record subject to scrutiny - to be potentially criticized - but this is a job interview."
In the Democratic competition, Clinton held a slight edge over Sanders, the senator from Vermont, 45 per cent to 42 per cent, according to Saturday's poll.
On Monday, Iowans will gather in homes, gymnasiums, libraries, taverns and even grain elevators for caucuses to select their favorite for the Democratic and Republican presidential nominations. When they are finished, the race will take on a new dynamic and several candidates could drop out altogether.
Clinton, Kasich win New York Times endorsement
The New York Times's editorial board endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican John Kasich as they seek to become their parties' nominees in the U.S. presidential election, calling Clinton one of the most "deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history."
Clinton, a front-runner facing a strong challenge from Senator Bernie Sanders, and Kasich, who has only dimly registered in the polls, received the endorsements from one of the nation's largest newspapers two days before voters in Iowa hold the first nominating contest for the Nov. 8 election.
"Mr Sanders does not have the breadth of experience or policy ideas that Mrs Clinton offers," the board wrote, after praising him for making important points about economic inequality and foreign policy.
The board praised Clinton's term as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013, and said she had shown a lifelong commitment to American workers, particularly women. The board criticized her as too quick to propose using military force abroad, but said she still would be a better military leader than her Republican rivals.
The Times editorial board previously endorsed Clinton in 2008, when she ran against Barack Obama. In that endorsement, it also argued that Clinton had more experience and had presented more detailed policy ideas than her rival.
Kasich, the governor of Ohio, was the only candidate in the crowded Republican field the board said it was able to stomach.
"Gov. John Kasich of Ohio, though a distinct underdog, is the only plausible choice for Republicans tired of the extremism and inexperience on display in this race," the board wrote.
It said Kasich had "been capable of compromise and believes in the ability of government to improve lives."
The board said that front-runner Donald Trump did not have experience of international issues or interest in learning about them. It said Ted Cruz would "say anything to win."
America's angry voters divvied up by Trump and Sanders - poll
The 2016 election is shaping up to be the year of angry voters, the disgruntled Americans shaking up the establishment by fueling the presidential campaigns of two very different candidates - billionaire businessman Donald Trump and self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders.
Some 73 percent of voters likely to head to the polls in November's election say they think the United States is on the wrong track, and these disaffected people make up a majority of the support bases for both Republican candidate Trump and Democratic hopeful Sanders - 87 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
Both candidates were seen as long shots against brand name rivals like Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton a few months ago, but have seen their popularity surge as the election race starts in earnest with the Iowa caucuses on Feb. 1. They are likely to do well in Iowa, but even if they lose, the fervor they've whipped up has upended the race and maybe even American politics.
So who are the angry Americans? They deviate from the population in key ways: they are whiter, poorer and less educated. They are less likely to support a candidate who has been involved in politics. And regardless of party, they have deep distrust for Clinton after her more than two decades in the public eye.
Where the camps differ is in identifying the root of America's ills, with supporters of Sanders pointing to income inequality and health care as the top problems, and those backing Trump putting the blame on immigrants and foreign terrorists, according to the poll.
Pundits have been quick to define the economy as the source of the voter anger feeding the Trump and Sanders campaigns. In a post-recession world, the middle class still struggles with stagnant wages and a weak job market. But a close look at the polls, and interviews with prospective voters, show concerns go well beyond economic indicators.
Here in Iowa, the December jobs report issued Tuesday found just 3.4 per cent unemployment - far below the national average and still on the decline. "Now Hiring" signs are ubiquitous across the state.
Asked to select the top issue for the next president in the first 100 days of the new administration, 24 per cent of voters nationwide who said the country was on the wrong track picked immigration - making it the most popular choice by that group.
Only 10 perc ent of those who think the nation is on the right track selected immigration, making it the fifth most popular choice for that group, according to the poll.
"Wrong track" voters were also more likely to say terrorism and the economy were concerns.
Angry and loving it
Trump has built his campaign on an immigration platform that includes building a wall and deporting millions of undocumented immigrants. And his insistence that he could negotiate better trade deals provides a strong appeal to those concerned about disappearing jobs in a global economy.
On Tuesday night in Iowa City, Trump's rally drew both supporters and opponents. Eight times the event was interrupted by protesters, who were forced out of the packed gymnasium and heckled by the raucous crowd.
Jim Schmidt, 48, of Johnson County, Iowa, was among the angry. His 11-year-old son wore a button proclaiming "Bomb the shit out of ISIS. The child watched as protesters were ejected from the event, cheering and waving his hand in support.
"I'm angry but I love it and enjoy it," Schmidt said afterward. He's backing Trump for his business experience and ability to bring about change.
Where Trump's angry voters have been on display at rallies, the intensity around Sanders has manifested itself online - dominating message boards and comment sections. A liberal radio host in Oregon, Carl Wolfson, announced last month he was ending his show in part because of the vitriol coming from Sanders supporters. His Facebook post on the topic was then inundated with angry responses.
Sanders is resonating among angry voters by focusing on income inequality, and promising to deliver universal health care and free college education.
Meghan Metier, 22, of Iowa City said the Affordable Care Act - President Barack Obama's signature healthcare reform - has allowed some of her friends to access Medicaid. But to keep it, she added, they have to be certain their income doesn't exceed the poverty level, so they stay barely employed.
For her the system is broken and Sanders is the only candidate who appears ready to fix it. "He's a more reliable progressive," she said, comparing him to Clinton.
