Candidates Make Last Minute Appeals as Iowa Caucus Approaches

With only one week to go before the first votes of the 2016 presidential race, Republican candidates are meeting in Iowa to gain some final campaign boosts.

Front runner Donald Trump received support from Sen. Chuck Grassley, who formally distanced himself from Trump but appeared at a rally Saturday, The Washington Times reports.

"We have an opportunity again to make America great again," Grassley said. "I'm excited to see the big crowds because of the big energy that comes with it. And that's what it is going to take for us to win back the White House in November."

While Trump was also endorsed this week by 2008 vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Hilary Clinton said she is a shoo-in for the Democratic nomination.

This week former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced he may run on a third-party ticket if Trump and Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., are the nominees.

"The way I read what he said is if I didn't get the nomination, he might consider (running)," Clinton said on NBC's "Meet the Press." "Well, I'm going to relieve him of that and get the nomination so he doesn't have to (run)."

Clinton is locked in a competitive contest against Sanders with a week to go until the Feb. 1 Iowa caucuses, reports the Associated Press.

Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Sen. Ted Cruz are also receiving strategic endorsements from high-profile figures.

On ABC's "This Week," Bush shared about his endorsement by former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole. Cruz also touted his endorsement from Rep. Steve King, who is influential among conservative Iowans.

As each candidate picks up endorsements they continue to battle over who is the most conservative.

"I am a conservative," Trump said on NBC. "And what I say to people is this: Ronald Reagan. He was a somewhat liberal Democrat, and over the years, he evolved and he became fairly conservative. Not overly, a fairly conservative Republican."

"Donald Trump is not a conservative, and you need a conservative to lead the conservative party into the general election," Bush said.

Cruz, meanwhile, said Trump has not been conservative for long, pointing out that he was for social causes like gay rights at some point in his life.

"They are not Iowa values," Cruz said on MediaBuzz, a Fox News program.

Meanwhile Ben Carson, whose is in third place in Iowa, is recovering from recent staff resignations that upended his campaign, Times reports.

During a speech this week in Iowa, Carson told supporters that lessons his mother taught him growing up helped carry him through the December changes.

Carson said that his mother "never felt sorry for herself" and taught her children to take care of themselves.

"When you accept responsibility you do things in the appropriate way," he said.

"It's just like recently, I had to change some things in my campaign because they simply weren't working," Carson explained. "These were people who were supposedly professionals, but they were not getting it done, and we changed it."

Carson's top aides Barry Bennett and communications director Doug Watts, along with deputy campaign manager Lisa Coen left the campaign. Bennett now advises Trump.

His new campaign chair is Gen. Bob Dees.

"It's working so much better now, it makes all the difference in the world," Carson said. "You always have to be willing to assess the situation and make the appropriate changes."