Candidates Battling Down to Wire as Iowa Race Nears

Democratic and Republican candidates are racing down to the wire neck-and-neck-and-neck as Iowa prepares for the nation's first presidential contest in just eight days. It's expected to be one of the closest races in US history, the Los Angeles Times reports. "If you can find a three-headed coin, flip it. That's the best projection I can give," said an expert who has been tracking the caucuses since 1972.

Dem frontrunners Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and top GOP hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romey are expected to pull out all the stops in the race that typically has a significant impact on future contests. Campaigning has been fairly good-natured, but few expect the truce to last. "It's going to be harder for them to restrain themselves," noted one expert. (More Iowa stories.)