2016 field converges in Iowa

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – Hillary Rodham Clinton avoided any mention of her primary opponents in the first Democratic face-off of the 2016 presidential campaign, opting instead to focus her fire on would-be Republican contenders.

All five Democratic primary candidates were on the program for the Friday fundraiser for the Iowa state party, creating an opportunity for Clinton to confront her challengers before more than 1,300 influential party activists in the crucial caucus state.

Instead, she explained her White House bid as a “deeply personal” quest, vowing she would never let Republicans “rip away the progress” made during the Obama administration.

“Trickle-down economics has to be one of the worst ideas of the 1980s,” Clinton said. “It is right up there with New Coke, shoulder pads and big hair. … We are not going back to that.”

In recent weeks, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders has risen in the polls and packed arenas with voters eager to hear the message of the self-described socialist who’s become Clinton’s chief rival.

Besides Sanders and Clinton, the forum featured former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and former Rhode Island Gov. Lincoln Chafee.

Clinton wasn’t the only candidate who shied away from attacks on fellow members of the Democratic Party.

Even Chafee, who opened his quixotic self-fueled bid for the White House with attacks on Clinton’s support for the war in Iraq, opted against targeting the front-runner Friday.