First-time political participants key in Iowa

KEOKUK, Iowa (Reuters) - Democratic front-runners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, locked in battle in the first state contest on the road to the presidential nomination, are eyeing first-time caucus participants in Iowa as a key to victory.

The Clinton campaign is appealing to women attending their first political nominating caucus, set for Thursday in Iowa, while the Obama campaign seeks new young voters.

A win in Iowa would provide momentum for candidates seeking to become the Republican and Democratic nominees in the November 2008 election to replace President George W. Bush.

"It's a smart angle by both of those campaigns," said Tracy Osborn, a professor of political science at the University of Iowa. "Barack Obama could bring in minority voters and younger voters and Hillary Clinton is likely to bring in women voters and typically those are groups that don't participate in a caucus."

Clinton, a New York senator and former first lady, leads Iowa's Democratic field with 30 percent, just ahead of Illinois Sen. Obama and former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who each polled 26 percent in a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Monday.

Hoping to coax young people to turn out for the longstanding political event mostly frequented by older, established party faithful, the Obama campaign has tried different ways such as the online Facebook network to reach high school students who will be old enough to vote in November.

"Can I shake your hand? That way I can tell everybody," Ashley Hazen, 17, asked Obama as he made his way through George's Pizza and Steakhouse in Fairfield, Iowa, this week.

"It's my first caucus," said Hazen, who will be 18 by the November general election. "I'm actually going to caucus for him. He's a down-to-earth, good family man and is what we need for the United States."

DRAWING THEM IN

With an eye to women, Clinton this week again reminded voters she is a mother and a daughter and advocating support for people who care for others, such as elderly parents or a disabled spouse.

"Our natural universe of potential caucus-goers has been women," said Mark Daley, Clinton's Iowa communications director.

He said the campaign has identified women in each of the state's 1,784 political precincts who vote in general elections but have not participated in a caucus. Those women were targeted with direct mail, telephone calls and online advertising.

One woman at a campaign event in Keokuk on Monday said she plans to participate in her first caucus and back Clinton but had some reservations.

"I'm pretty nervous," said Annie Pennington, 33. "You watch it on TV but this is the real thing."

In Iowa, the start of the nominating process can be time-consuming as voters gather and typically discuss candidates and issues before making their choices.

A rise in first-time attendees could tip the scales dramatically, given the low numbers of people who participate. In 2004, 124,000 people took part in Iowa's Democratic caucus.

But it's tough getting first-timers to show up. In 2004, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean headed into Iowa as the Democratic favorite but failed to draw his young supporters to the voting process and finished a disappointing third place.

Nonetheless, gambling on first-timers is a risk worth taking in a race this close, Osborn said.

"The real risk would be if they get them out to the caucus and they caucus for someone else," she said.

(Additional reporting by Deborah Charles in Fairfield, Iowa; Editing by Lori Santos and Bill Trott)