The Iowa Caucus is an unusual experience for many political candidates and with 18 percent of the most likely voters polled saying they will vote for Bill Richardson over Barack Obama, he has a couple of things going for him. Obama, an early leader in the Iowa polls has lost some ground to Governor Richardson, in part because he is a governor and Iowa voters have a history of leaning towards the leadership skills of governors.
Back in January, Richardson was showing one about one percent in Iowa polls, which by June had nearly grew to double digits. This can be attributed to some of his appeal to Iowa voters as being a candidate who sticks to the issues. Iowa is traditionally an issues-based voter segment and with Richardson avoiding disparaging politics in favor of explaining his position on the many issues, he has gained considerable ground over Obama.
Currently the trio of Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards are spending a lot of time and effort finding fault with each other and Richardson pretty much stays out of the personal attacks. However, this trio could end up not only hurting themselves, but also Richardson if Al Gore decides to enter the race.
It is possible that Gore, tracking at 15 percent in polls, will wait until this trio has roughed up their own campaigns before jumping into the fray. His entry could split the Iowa voters following imploding campaigns by the three. He is well-liked in Iowa and could possibly disable the run for Iowa currently improving by Richardson.
Bill Richardson has also been able to capitalize with successes in Iowa and New Hampshire into the national scene. The latest American Research Group poll has him sitting at 7% nationally.
> USAElectionPolls.com has predicted Bill Richardson to win Iowa.
