Iowa party chairs: Nominees are not lesser of 2 evils

CEDAR RAPIDS - As unpopular as the two major party candidates for president are, the Iowa Democratic and Republican Party chairpersons say voters should not view their respective nominees as the lesser of two evils.

'My candidate, at least, is not someone you should not vote for,” Iowa Democratic Party Chairwoman Andy McGuire said.

Hillary Clinton has been the target of partisan attacks for years, 'and that's what taints her to a lot of people,” she said. 'If you listen to her policies, she is really someone who I think can take this nation forward at a very pivotal time.”

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kaufmann, a community college history professor, said that to put the characterizations of the candidates in perspective, voters have to consider some of the campaign attacks on Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt and Harry Truman.

'I don't know that the complaints of the two candidates is what is unique,” he said. 'If you go below the chatter, below the tweets, I think what you have in Donald Trump is a message of change.”

Kaufmann and McGuire made their comments during taping of 'Vote 2016,” which aired Thursday night and can be seen at CBS2Iowa.com and Fox28Iowa.com.

Both Trump and Clinton will be campaigning in Cedar Rapids on Friday. That speaks to how close the race is in Iowa, according to Cary Covington, a University of Iowa political science professor.

Clinton will speak at a 1:15 p.m. rally at NewBo City Market courtyard, and Trump will have a 7 p.m. rally at the McGrath Amphitheatre.

'Iowa is certainly up for grabs. It's gotten a lot closer. I thought it was leaning toward Trump, and now it appears to be neck-and-neck,” Covington said, referring to a new Quinnipiac University Poll released Thursday showing Trump and Clinton tied at 44 percent in Iowa.

'Whether Iowa picks the winner, it's going to be a real narrow victory for one person or the other,” he said.