memeorandum: Cruz Campaign Under Fire for Sending Iowans Controversial Letter (Tessa Berenson/TIME)

9:00 AM ET, January 31, 2016

Top Items:

Donald Trump reclaims lead in latest Iowa Poll — Donald Trump has muscled ahead in Iowa, regaining his lead on the brink of the first votes being cast in the 2016 presidential race. — Trump stands at 28 percent, while rival Ted Cruz has slid to 23 percent.

Discussion: New York Times, TIME, The Huffington Post, NBC News, AOL, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, Yahoo Politics, Hot Air, Liberal Values, Washington Post, Florida Politics, Althouse and Truth Revolt

John McCormick / Bloomberg Business:

Trump Overtakes Cruz in Final Iowa Poll Before Caucuses — Donald Trump has overtaken Ted Cruz in the final days before Iowa's caucuses, with the fate of the race closely tied to the size of Monday evening's turnout, especially among evangelical voters and those attending for the first time …

Discussion: The Hill, Vox Popoli, Washington Post, Politico, Slantpoint, Trail Blazers Blog, Yahoo Politics and The Last Refuge, more at Mediagazer »

Caleb Howe / RedState:

RESULTS ARE IN: Winner of Des Moines Register's Final Iowa Poll Before The Caucus — The big political news of the weekend is here, and the Des Moines Register's poll results are out. Here we go: — Trump wins. Cruz is close. Rubio third, and Carson fourth. Here's the rest of the field.

Des Moines Register:

Clinton keeps slim edge over Sanders in latest Iowa Poll — Hillary Clinton has kept a tight grip on her slim lead over Bernie Sanders in the waning hours leading into the Iowa caucuses, a new Iowa Poll shows. — Clinton is the top pick for 45 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers …

Discussion: American Prospect and Daily Kos

Dan Balz / Washington Post:

The big Iowa test: Can Trump and Sanders turn enthusiasm into votes? — DES MOINES — With campaign events all across Iowa on Saturday overflowing with voters, the Republican and Democratic contests have been reduced to the same question: Can the muscle of traditional and methodical organizing overcome …

Des Moines Register:

A closer look at the GOP's Iowa Poll results — Horse race rank: No. 1 — Support: 28 percent, up from 22 percent — Mainstream Republicans are helping carry the New York businessman into the lead. — Thirty-eight percent of likely GOP caucusgoers identify themselves as primarily mainstream …

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Margaret Talev / Bloomberg Business:
Clinton Has Slim Lead Over Sanders in Iowa Poll

Discussion: Global Gathering, The Week, Business Insider and New York Times

MaryAlice Parks / ABC News:
Iowa Political Parties Acknowledge Major Gap in Online Caucus Tool

Discussion: Associated Press

Shane Goldmacher / Politico:

Top Iowa elections official slams Cruz mailer — AMES, Iowa — Iowa's top elections official condemned Ted Cruz's campaign on Saturday for sending mailers to Iowa voters designed to look like official documents that accuse them of a “VOTING VIOLATION” for failure to turn out in past elections.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh, Raw Story and American Power

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Uncomfortable Question for Ted Cruz on Obamacare Silences the Room — HUBBARD, Iowa — Senator Ted Cruz is often asked about doing away with President Obama's health care law. He is rarely pressed by voters on what will replace it. — But at a middle school cafeteria here, a man, Mike Valde, presented him with a tragic tale.

Discussion: Politico, @politifact, Slantpoint, Washington Post and Hullabaloo

Matt Flegenheimer / New York Times:

Iowa Official Criticizes Cruz Campaign Over Mailer — HAMLIN, Iowa — Iowa's secretary of state chastised the presidential campaign of Senator Ted Cruz on Saturday for sending a mailer that he said violated “the spirit of the Iowa caucuses” and misrepresented state election law.

Discussion: Mother Jones and Althouse

Tessa Berenson / TIME:
Cruz Campaign Under Fire for Sending Iowans Controversial Letter

Discussion: Trail Blazers Blog, The Reality-Based Community, BuzzFeed and The Last Refuge

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
GOP braces for Trump Iowa result

Discussion: Politico and Political Wire

Rosie Gray / BuzzFeed:
Cruz Endorser Questions Authenticity Of Mailers That Campaign Confirmed Were Real

Discussion: Washington Post, The Last Refuge, Independent Journal Review, RedState and American Power

Paul Mirengoff / Power Line:
Flag thrown on Ted Cruz's Iowa ground game

Discussion: Patterico's Pontifications, Washington Monthly, BizPac Review, Althouse and Washington Post

Sundance / The Last Refuge:
Unbelievable - Ted Cruz Campaign Sends Out Personal “Shaming Letters” To Iowa Voters...

Discussion: The Right Scoop

Paul Steinhauser / NH1:
Donald Trump tells NH1 News ‘Ted Cruz is going down’ in exclusive interview

Discussion: Mediaite, Weekly Standard, RedState and Fox News

Jonathan Swan / The Hill:

Koch network spent nearly $400M in 2015 — INDIAN WELLS, Calif. - The Koch brothers' donor network spent close to $400 million last year, and is on its way to spending an unprecedented $889 million supporting right-wing politics and causes during the 2016 cycle.

Denver Post:

At least 9 people taken to area hospitals — Multiple shootings and a stabbing were reported at the Denver Coliseum Saturday, Jan. 30, 2016. (Andy Cross, The Denver Post) — Multiple shootings and at least one stabbing have been reported at the Denver Coliseum Saturday afternoon.

Discussion: The Right Scoop and KFOR-TV

Patrick Healy / New York Times:

Iowa Will Gauge Ardor to Upend Politics as Usual — DES MOINES — The presidential race hurtled over the weekend toward a watershed moment: voting that will start to reveal the true depth of Americans' desire to cast aside traditional politicians and Washington-style compromise …

Hadas Gold / Politico:

DNC moving to assert control as more Democratic debates agreed — CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa — If the Democratic National Committee were to sanction a Democratic debate on Feb. 4 in New Hampshire, it would likely do so without being co-sponsored by the state's largest newspaper, three sources familiar with the plans have confirmed.

Discussion: Political Wire, Hot Air and Mediaite

Evan McMorris-Santoro / BuzzFeed:
Sanders, Clinton Campaigns Agree To More Debates, Disagree On The Details

Discussion: RedState, UnionLeader.com, Slantpoint, The Slot, The Daily Caller, Common Dreams and Talking Points Memo

Daily Mail:

EU leaders insist there is ‘NO LINK’ between the migrant crisis and New Year sex attacks in Cologne - and vow to bring about an end to ‘false accusations’ — There is ‘no link’ between the migrant crisis and the wave of sex attacks in Cologne during New Year celebrations, EU officials believe.

Discussion: Jihad Watch and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Matthew Holehouse / Telegraph:
EU leaders: ‘No link’ between Cologne sex attacks and migrant crisis

Discussion: National Review

New York Times:

Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Nomination — Voters have the chance to choose one of the most broadly and deeply qualified presidential candidates in modern history. — For the past painful year, the Republican presidential contenders have been bombarding Americans with empty propaganda slogans …