On the eve of the first-in-the-nation Jan. 3 Iowa Caucus, the Midwestern farming state is peacefully counting down to the first battle of the 2008 US presidential race.

 

In Des Moines, the capital of Iowa, there is not much campaigning seen on the streets and there is virtually no election banner in the very cold weather.

 

Leading candidates from both Democratic and Republican are traveling back and forth across the state stoplessly to make the final push in the countdown to the caucus night Thursday.

 

On both the Democratic and Republican fronts, the race is very tight in Iowa as shown in conflicting poll results.

 

With all the major candidates engaged in a full court press in Iowa, three polls out since Monday show no clear leader in the state in the run-up to Thursday's caucuses.

 

The final Des Moines Register poll before caucuses shows among Democrats, Barack Obama is leading with 32 percent, followed by Hillary Clinton with 25 percent and John Edwards with 24 percent.

 

On the GOP side, Mike Huckabee is leading Mitt Romney 32 percent-26 percent in Iowa, followed by John McCain with 13 percent.

 

However, a CNN poll shows Clinton at 33 percent; Obama at 31 percent and Edwards at 22 percent.

 

On the GOP side, the poll has Romney at 31 percent; Huckabee at 28 percent; Fred Thompson at 13 percent; McCain at 10 percent and Rudy Giuliani, 8 percent.

 

Zogby International's daily Iowa tracking poll shows Clinton leading the Democratic field in Iowa with 30 percent, followed by Obama, 26 percent, and Edwards, 25 percent. Richardson and Biden both pull 5 percent apiece.

 

The earlier a state holds the primary election, the more attention it receives from candidates and media. Thus, the first-in-the-nation caucus in Iowa and the first-in-the-nation primary in New Hampshire, are considered as the winner or the weather vane for the presidential nomination process.

 

(Xinhua News Agency January 3, 2008)