Hillary Clinton has spent much of her presidential campaign looking past Democratic rival Bernie Sanders, focusing instead on Republicans and the November general election.
Three weeks before the lead-off Iowa caucuses on February 1 and with polls suggesting a tightening race, she now is confronting the Vermont senator more directly, attempting to undermine his liberal credentials on gun control, health care and even the Wall Street regulations that have been the core of his insurgent campaign.
“It’s time for us to have the kind of spirited debate that you deserve us to have,” Ms. Clinton told voters on Monday. “We do have differences.”
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After months with a comfortable edge in most Iowa polls, the former Secretary of State finds herself battling an underdog rival in a State that has a history of rewarding anti-establishment campaigns a situation that brings back echoes of her 2008 loss to Barack Obama in the Midwestern State.
Sanders’ strength While she has locked up the vast majority of support from party leaders and large donors, Mr. Sanders has captured the hearts of many in the Democratic base with his unapologetically liberal economic message.
An NBC/The Wall Street Journal/Marist poll released Sunday found Ms. Clinton with 48 per cent and Sanders with 45 per cent of likely Iowa caucus goers, representing a closer margin than past polls have indicated.
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Mr. Sanders has maintained an edge in New Hampshire, which neighbours his home state of Vermont, making Iowa even more important for Ms. Clinton.
The NBC/ Wall Street Journal/Marist poll showed Mr. Sanders with 50 per cent and Ms. Clinton with 46 per cent in that primary which takes place Feb. 9.
Ms. Clinton still holds a strong advantage among black and Latino voters who play a bigger role in the primaries in late February and March.
But even if Ms. Clinton pulls out a win in Iowa, a narrow victory could set off alarms among the Democrats about her strength against Sanders, who started the campaign as an obscure senator polling in the single digits.
Until now, Ms. Clinton has rarely mentioned Mr. Sanders by name at her campaign events, choosing instead to warn voters about the risks of electing a Republican.
She has pointed to efforts by the Republicans to repeal Obama’s signature health care law the President vetoed the most recent try as a sign of what could come if Democrats lose the White House.
But on Monday, she widened her healthcare critique to include Sanders, saying he would “rip up” the law and put power in the hands of states. Mr. Sanders said during a town hall meeting in Perry, Iowa, that many people have inadequate coverage and must pay large fees to cover medical expenses before payments from private insurers kick in.
Mr. Sanders advocates a system in which medical claims would be paid out by the government as it does with the Medicare program covering seniors.
Ms. Clinton also announced a new plan that would impose a 4 per cent fee on taxpayers making more than $5 million, an effort to match Mr. Sanders’ focus on income inequality.