Iowa remains crucial for Clinton amid her widening lead in polls

IOWA CITY - New polls show Hillary Clinton building a sizable lead over her Democratic competitors in Iowa, but the chairman of her national campaign isn't taking victory for granted.

'When I saw a poll out here showing us down, I didn't think that was right. And the polls that came out today, I don't take too much out of those either,” John Podesta said Tuesday in Iowa City.

He was referring to polls by Loras and Monmouth colleges showing the former secretary of state leading Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders by 38 and 41 percentage points.

Despite that, Podesta, who was President Bill Clinton's chief of staff, said Iowa is in play.

'This is a state where we're ahead, but we need to fight to stay ahead,” he said after meeting with Hillary for Iowa staff and volunteers. 'That means spending time here and executing on our organizational goals.”

And that means the candidate will be in Iowa 'virtually every week” between now and the Feb. 1 precinct caucuses.

Podesta, whose first foray into presidential politics was the 1968 Iowa caucuses, feels good about the organization on the ground in Iowa, but made clear he wants to be riding a victory in the first-in-the-nation caucuses into New Hampshire, where he expects a 'dogfight.”

Sanders has the advantage there because he's from next door, and much of New Hampshire is in the Burlington, Vt., media market, Podesta said.

After New Hampshire, the political terrain looks better for Clinton in South Carolina and Nevada, and in the southern states, including Texas, on Super Tuesday.

'Our strategy has been built around winning here, connecting here, building the organization here, and if we do that, I think we will be able to be the clear nominee relatively early in the season,” Podesta said.

Then Clinton can turn her attention to Republicans, he said.

Podesta also said that Clinton has not reached out to either Sanders, Vice President Joe Biden or former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley in regard to the vice presidency or Cabinet positions.

'Nope,” he said, 'we're fighting for votes here, man.”