Iowa is launch pad for leaders

THE attractions include deep-fried chocolate bars, a life-size sculpture of a cow made from butter – and a chance to interrogate the next leader of the free world.

The Iowa State Fair started yesterday and for 11 days it will be visited by the leading candidates in the run for the White House – Republican and Democratic alike.

Jeb Bush appeared yesterday; Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, Bernie Sanders and Rick Santorum will drop in today.

They will admire prize livestock and eat pork chops on sticks. Everybody except Trump and Clinton will stand on a soap box and field unfiltered questions from the public.

Trump, who is leading the polls, is said to have wanted to bring his helicopter and give rides to children, but permission was refused.

The fair is a reminder that critical aspects of the US election remain locked in a bygone age – and that the race for the White House could turn on a handful of votes in a sparsely populated, socially conservative, overwhelmingly white landlocked state.

Iowa is a little larger than England, but with a population of barely three million.

Since 1972 it has been the first state to hold a contest to decide who should be the presidential nominee of each party.

The Iowa caucuses are due to be held on February 1, and 25,000 votes may be enough to win on the Republican side.

Not doing well in Iowa can kill a campaign; beating expectations can catapult a candidate into contention.

‘‘There’s a lot of news being made by the national polls, mostly about Donald Trump,’’ Craig Robinson, of The Iowa Republican website, said. ‘‘What really matters is who wins the Iowa caucus.’’

Iowans expect extraordinary access to presidential hopefuls, and nowhere more so than at the fair. ‘‘Just like in the old days, candidates glad-hand, pass out their pamphlets,’’ Larry Sabato, of the University of Virginia, said.

Regulars say that big personalities do well. ‘‘Iowans value authenticity,’’ Charlie Szold, of the local Republican party, said.

Many believe that Trump could flourish at the fair, and that a more introverted candidate, such as Bush, may struggle.

The question lingers, however, as to whether the primary system is a good thing. Supporters argue that the focus on a single state gives poorly funded candidates a chance to compete. Others note that Iowa is 91 per cent white, compared with 72 per cent for the country as a whole, and say that its relatively old population is a poor proxy for the new America.

‘‘I believe there’s a code of silence among Iowans,’’ Stephen Bloom, of the University of Iowa, said.

‘‘There’s a smug sense of satisfaction that we get to choose the next president of the United States.’’