Republicans gear up for Trump's good start with Iowa caucus

The Republican establishment is preparing itself for a good start for party's presidential frontrunner Donald Trump as the months-long process of electing the new US president kicks off on Monday with the crucial Iowa caucus.
Given the number of people he has been attracting to his political rallies as compared to his other party opponents, Trump, 69, appears to be headed for a possible victory in early primary states of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, CNN reported today.
In Iowa itself, Trump's lead over his nearest Republican rival Senator Ted Cruz from Texas is more than six percentage points, according to RealClearPolitics.Com which takes an average of all major polls.

"Campaigns lower expectations in Iowa, brace for Trump win," the report said, reflecting the mood in other Republican presidential campaigns.
"Each of these candidates have something in common: They are bracing for a Donald Trump win in Iowa and planning for the aftermath," it said, adding that each of these candidates are positioning themselves as an alternative to Trump.
Iowa Caucus is scheduled to be held on February 1, followed by the New Hampshire a week later, where Trump's lead over his nearest rival John Kasich is over 20 points.

Nationally, Cruz is the distant second to Trump's popularity of more than 16 per cent.

In a crowded Republican race of more than a dozen candidates, the competition is now for number two even as others have addressed more rallies than Trump or pumped in more money than the New York billionaire.
Cruz has criss-crossed Iowa, Jeb Bush has 30 paid staffers for an aggressive campaign, while Marco Rubio has spent more money on TV than any other candidate.
"Donald Trump's attempt at a hostile takeover of the GOP is astonishing in its breadth. He is not just competing against a large field of candidates for votes in the primaries; he is at war with nearly every power centre in the Republican Party - and he is winning," wrote 'The New Yorker' magazine.

When on June 16 last year, Trump announced his decision to run for the US president, both the political pundits and Republican establishment believed it was another media gimmick of the real-estate tycoon and his bubble would burst soon.
But to the surprise of many, he has been leading all the polls for the past several months and as of now no particular rival seems to be even close to his popularity ratings at the national level.