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| - Democratic candidates darted across Iowa Sunday delivering their closing arguments to any and all who would listen, a day before the state's nominating vote that officially starts the US presidential election season. Iowa, a largely rural state of three million people, has traditionally served as a vital launching point -- or burial ground -- for presidential hopefuls. "This is the most consequential election, certainly in the modern history of this country... and it all begins tomorrow night," Senator Bernie Sanders, the leading progressive in the race, told invigorated supporters at a meet-and-greet event in Iowa City. Similar scenes played out across the snowy state this weekend as most of the 11 remaining candidates in the race made their final push to convince undecided voters. But Monday's caucuses have created an air of suspense with no clear frontrunner. Several hopefuls look to strike gold here and take their winning ways into the next contest, in New Hampshire on February 11. Leftist Sanders holds only a narrow lead over moderate former vice president Joe Biden. Former South Bend, Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg and Senator Elizabeth Warren are just a few points back. Three of the leading candidates seized on a brief break from their duties as jurors in President Donald Trump's Senate impeachment trial to barnstorm Iowa before Monday's caucuses. The senators -- self-styled democratic socialist Sanders, progressive Warren and pragmatist Amy Klobuchar -- each hosted multiple events Sunday. Saturday had been equally hectic. The impeachment trial -- only the third in history of a US president -- created an unprecedented situation by limiting the senators' ability to campaign in Iowa ahead of the vote. Sanders, Warren and Klobuchar must return to Washington Monday, along with Senator Michael Bennet who trails badly in the polls, for the trial's resumption. Senate leaders have scheduled a Wednesday vote that appears virtually certain to end in Trump's acquittal on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Trump will claim victory against Democrats with his acquittal, and he once again repeated that the effort to oust him was a "witch hunt." He also took aim at his top rivals, again branding Biden "Sleepy Joe" and hurling a description of Sanders's political leanings as an epithet. "Well, I think he's a communist," Trump told Fox News in an interview that aired before the Super Bowl later Sunday. American football's championship features the Kansas City Chiefs, a team with a huge Iowa following, which could affect Sunday evening campaigning, especially door-knocking. Klobuchar is an underdog who argues that her Midwestern roots and history of reaching across the aisle to Republicans can help her win Iowa and defeat Trump. She made reference to the big game as she highlighted the last-gasp nature of the final weekend before the vote. "I would call it the Super Bowl of campaigns," she told supporters in Cedar Rapids. Turnout will be critical Monday, as candidates seek to persuade voters on issues including health care, improving conditions for the working class and ending Washington corruption. They were also pushing the case for their own electability, as Buttigieg did repeatedly on the stump and during Sunday TV talk shows. "I certainly think that I am better positioned to beat Donald Trump than any of my competitors," Buttigieg told CNN. A former consultant, US Army reservist and Harvard graduate who became a mayor at 29, Buttigieg portrays his youth as a reason voters should prefer him over the gray-haired Biden, 77, and the 78-year-old Sanders. One in two Iowa voters claimed to still be undecided ahead of the quirky caucus process. At 7:00 pm Monday (0100 GMT Tuesday), the state's 600,000-plus registered Democrats are invited to take part in caucuses at about 1,700 venues -- schools, libraries, churches -- to publicly declare their choice by standing under one candidate's banner. Candidates who reach 15 percent support can earn delegates in the race for the nomination. If a candidate does not meet this threshold after the first alignment of caucus-goers, his or her supporters can shift to other candidates. At that point the rallies and TV advertising fade away, as neighbors seek to convince and persuade the undecided or those from unviable candidates to align with another. Iowans take their role as first-in-the-nation voters to heart, and their pick has a recent historical track record of going on to become the Democratic nominee. At a home in Iowa City that Warren supporters were using as a base, people streamed in and out, looking for more posters to put up, or for lists of doors that still needed to be knocked on. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson, a marine biologist, traveled all the way from New York to help Warren. "Having a good showing in Iowa is so important to build momentum," Johnson said. elc-mlm/it
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