January 23, 2000
Web posted at: 1:56 a.m. EST (0656 GMT)

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) -- On the eve of the first presidential campaign showdown, a major Iowa newspaper is endorsing Democratic contender Bill Bradley over the front-runner, Vice President Al Gore.

The Register's editoral said it was a tough decision, saying "we cannot recall a time when the Register's editorial board was so torn between two candidates ... admiring both."

The editorial board met with the former New Jersey senator twice, most recently on Wednesday, before offering its backing. The endorsement was published a day before voters attend the Iowa Caucuses.

The paper said it backed the underdog because "Bradley's vision is compelling. Moreover, there is a fundamental decency about him that would bode well for healing the festering, partisan wounds that have produced virtual stalemates in our national government."

A Bradley spokesman said the campaign believed the endorsement would have implications beyond Iowa. Eric Hauser told CNN, "The Register's editorial validates the themes that Senator Bradley has articulated consistently over the last year."

But the paper also published a poll showing Bradley remains far behind Gore. The Register poll shows 56 percent of Democratic voters support the Vice President, 28 percent Bradley, with 13 percent undecided and 3 percent.

Sunday, January 23, 2000

• Front-runners make final campaign stops as hours to Iowa caucuses tick down
  
• Bradley campaign, like others, readies supporters for caucuses
  
• Des Moines Register: Mixed bag for Bush in poll results
  
• Former president waits nervously as son competes in Iowa caucuses
  
• McCain, Gore hold leads in New Hampshire tracking poll
  
• Bush's absence noted at rally for 'family, faith and freedom'
  
• Des Moines Register endorses Bradley
  
• Poll: Front-runners hold wide leads in Iowa
  

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