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I N T E R N AT I O N A LMONDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2015
DES MOINES: Neither Jeb Bush nor Marco Rubioemphasized the need to do well in Iowa in the earlymonths of the 2016 Republican presidential campaign.But that’s changed as their rivalry intensifies and pres-sure mounts to emerge from the Feb 1 caucuses as thefavorite among mainstream conservatives.
Neither has visited Iowa as often as more sociallyconservative candidates such as Texas Sen. Ted Cruz,and both lack the star power of rivals billionaire DonaldTrump and newcomer Ben Carson. But the key, unveiledby Bush in a donor conference and reinforced afterWednesday’s debate, is how they fare against each oth-er, and Iowa is the first test. “They’re competing for thesame segment of Iowa Republicans,” said former stateparty chairman Matt Strawn, who said that vote still“absolutely is up for grabs.” As a result, they are addingresources in the state and spending more time courtingvoters. Bush and Rubio were among 10 presidential can-didates to appear at the Iowa Republican Party’s Growthand Opportunity forum, a tailgate-themed festival at theIowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, and the last mul-ticandidate event before the caucuses. Bush, a formerFlorida governor, was seen as a potential front-runnerbased on his early fundraising success. But he has failedto catch fire since this summer.
New generation Meanwhile, the younger Rubio has called for a new
generation of leaders but has struggled to grab thenational limelight. But at the Des Moines forum onSaturday, Rubio tried to capitalize on a strong showingat Wednesday night’s national debate and an increas-ing curiosity about him.
Rubio told more than 1,000 Iowa Republican faithfulthat the nation is on the wrong path and assured themthere “is a road that will allow us to be the freest andwill allow us to leave our children better off,” he said. “Todo that we must turn the page, and allow new leadersand new principles.” The jab at Bush, the 62-year-oldson and brother of former presidents, is more subtlethan Bush’s now outright battle with Rubio for missingSenate votes while campaigning for the White House, acriticism Bush raised during Wednesday’s debate.
On Saturday, Bush again mentioned Rubio’s Senateattendance, with an Iowa twist: “If you’re elected toserve, you should do what Chuck Grassley does: Youshould show up to vote,” Bush said, referring to Iowa’ssenior senator. To date, the better-funded Bush hasinvested more and earlier in a political organization,with at least 10 staffers in the state, as well as having asa senior national adviser David Kochel, a veteran Iowa
Republican operative. Rubio, who has had a leaneroperation, has 30 people working across the first fournominating states - Iowa, New Hampshire, SouthCarolina and Nevada.
“I think Bush has an organizational advantage,”Iowa Republican Chairman Jeff Kaufmann said. “But Ithink Rubio has a momentum advantage. Also, I thinkhe has an advantage coming out of the debate.” NowRubio’s fundraising is also rising.
Billionaire investor Paul Singer on Fridayannounced his support for Rubio in a letter to hisextensive network of Republican fundraisers, encour-aging them to follow his lead. Bush’s team views Rubioas his most dangerous competitor for voters anddonors who want to see a traditional nominee.Wednesday night’s attack from Bush backfired.
During a post-debate conference call, Bush’s teamtold supporters the debate did not go well and triedto reassure skittish donors the turnaround loomedahead. After his speech, Rubio was mobbed by sup-porters and journalists. He shook hands, signed booksand posed for photos for an hour, joking easily withthe crowd. “Just make sure you’re here in February,” hesaid to a woman who told him she spends time inFlorida. — AP
COLORADO: Marco Rubio (center) and Jeb Bush (left) argue a point as Donald Trump, looks on during the CNBC Republican presi-dential debate at the University of Colorado. — AP
NEW YORK: A street full of trick-or-treaters turned into a Halloween horrorscene when an out-of-control carjumped a curb and careened into agroup of costumed revelers, killing threepeople, including a 10-year-old girl andher grandfather. The crash injured threeother trick-or-treaters, along with thedriver, police said. Witnesses describedhearing a loud boom, followed byscreaming and crying, then seeing a trailof mangled bodies in crumpled, blood-ied costumes.
“I saw a torso on the sidewalk. I didn’tknow if it was a Halloween dummy or areal person,” neighbor Fabio Cotza toldthe New York Post. “I just grabbed awhole bunch of towels and ran outside.”Celebration turned to terror just before 5p.m. Saturday as the group of trick-or-treaters walked down a quiet residentialblock in the Morris Park neighborhood ofthe Bronx.
A 52-year-old man behind the wheelof the black Dodge Charger plowed intothe pedestrians on a sidewalk and thensmashed through a fence in front of ahome, police said. The car was left teeter-ing on a brick wall. A child’s shoe andremnants of mangled stroller lay on thesidewalk just feet away. Moments beforethe car jumped the sidewalk, the driverhad crossed over a double yellow line inthe road after bumping into the back of aToyota Camry, police said.
“There was a family of kids trick-or-treating, walking behind me,” KristinaDeJesus told WABC-TV. “All of a sudden ...I heard the boom, and the car like literal-ly jumped over a parked car and flewinto the gate, hitting a bunch of people.”Sixty-five-year-old Louis Perez sufferedsevere head trauma and died at thescene, police said. His granddaughter, 10-year-old Nyanna Aquil, and 24-year-oldKristian Leka, were taken to a hospital,where they were pronounced dead.Police did not know if or how Leka wasrelated to the others.
Authorities said a 3-year-old girl wascritically injured. A 21-year-old woman, a9-year-old girl and the driver of the caralso were taken to the hospital withinjuries not believed to be life-threaten-ing. “The little girl in the cat costume, shewas hurt, she was screaming,” Cotza, theneighbor, told WNBC-TV. “It just didn’tlook real ... like this is a Halloween joke.”
A crowd of costumed onlookersdescended on the scene Saturday nightas investigators worked to determine thecause of the crash. No charges had beenfiled. Hours after the crash, neighborsgathered for a small candlelight vigil toremember the victims. “This is a sad situ-ation, especially today, it’s Halloween,”Anna Crecco said. “It’s going to affect alot, something like this has never hap-pened here. Everyone’s going to remem-ber when they pass by.” — AP
3 dead when car plowsinto trick-or-treaters
NEW YORK: First responders examine an automobile after its driverlost control and plowed into a group of trick-or-treaters. — AP
Bush-Rubio rivalry intensifies as Iowa caucuses draw closer
Pressure mounts to emerge favorites
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