Iowans highlight pressing issues in election year ahead of caucuses

HEALTHCARE, CLIMATE CHANGE AMONG TOP CONCERNS

Both Hanson and Groenendyk expressed their frustration that healthcare has become too expensive for ordinary Americans during the last six to eight years, a period that covered former Democratic President Barack Obama's second term and the Trump presidency till now.

In addition, they questioned the feasibility of Democratic proposals on healthcare, which in general call for expanded government involvement.

Healthcare is "very expensive," Hanson said. "If you don't have insurance, should the government be involved and how do you do that? There are many ideas on both sides, but we haven't really spent a lot of money on healthcare-related matters; we don't always know if it serves everybody."

Healthcare is one of the "American issues that need to be better solved" irrespective of which party's candidate becomes president, Hanson said, adding that politicians shouldn't think that problems will be fixed simply by spending more money.

Groenendyk, for his part, said he is "very concerned" about the direction toward which the country's healthcare policy evolves, especially in the next 10 years. Right now, he added, healthcare is "very expensive."

Meanwhile, many Democratic voters are particularly worried about the danger posed by climate change. They blamed the Trump administration for ignoring the issue and thus accelerating the advent of a global crisis.

Emerging from a campaign event featuring Democratic candidate Joe Biden in the city of Newton in Iowa, Democratic voter Bruce Stinebrickner said climate change "is the number one issue" for him when deciding his vote.

"We live in the same world," said Stinebrickner, a political science professor at DePauw University, a private liberal arts college in the state of Indiana, adding no other issue will matter "if the world is going up in flames."

VOTERS AT ODDS

Trump prevailed against Democrat Hilary Clinton by 9.4 percentage points in Iowa in the 2016 election. It appears that Iowans, at least the majority of those interviewed by Xinhua, still tend to believe their state will support the president for four more years.

The Biden event in Newton on Thursday afternoon was attended by approximately 100 to 200 Democratic supporters, while the Trump rally held on the evening of the same day at Drake University's basketball stadium in Des Moines attracted more than 7,000 participants.

Tim Traudt, 31, who also attended the Trump rally, said he believed the United States is "on the right direction" under Trump. A marketing consultant, Traudt hailed the Trump administration's business deregulation, corporate tax cut, as well as increases in defense budget, among others.

Mary Blackledge, a retired teacher at the Biden event, said Biden is her only choice for next president.

"America has dropped so far in the last three years, and we need somebody that can on day one really start turning things around," said Blackledge.

Stinebrickner said he would support Democratic candidate Tom Steyer, the billionaire hedge fund manager who in 2013 founded NextGen America -- an advocacy nonprofit and political action committee.

"He's the only candidate remaining in the race" who views climate change as a top priority, Stinebrickner said of Steyer. He admitted, however, that his favorite has little chance to get the nomination.