Snapshots of Iowa, land of elections

Today, voters in the state of Iowa will hold the first of the primary election contest pitting hopefuls in both major parties and marking the start of the 2016 Presidential election season. On the ground of this Corn Belt state, also known as the Hawkeye State, DW correspondents have been scouting the diverse supporters on both sides, asking them: "What America do you want?"

Zach Wahls (left), an LGBTQ rights advocate, wants an America where "people don’t need to justify who they are, where they can be who they are." He says this is why he will support Hillary Clinton. Clinton has received the explicit support of the most powerful LGBTQ advocacy group in the US, the Human Rights Campaign (HCR).

Among the issues that could impact the Republican contest is the future of the ethanol and biosdiel sectors. Iowa makes close to 27% of the US‘ total output. Its production is mandated by federal law and corn farmers, whose produce goes into making it, are subsidized. Cruz has spoken against the subsidies, leading the state’s Republican Governor to call GOP supporters to vote for anyone but him.

In one of the latest polls, Bernie Sanders, the self-styled "Democratic Socialist" is trailing behind his rival, Hillary Clinton. On Sunday, as he addressed a crowd of young supporters and campaign staffers, he repeated his message to the American youth: "I want an America where every young person, regardless of his or her income, can get a college education, without going deeply into debt."

Polls show that the controversial Republican front-runner Donald trump is likely to win the Republican Caucus. He leads the GOP pack with 28%, five points clear of Texas Senator Ted Cruz. This will be the real-estate giant’s baptism of fire on the national electoral stage, after months of dominating the headlines and upstaging his adversaries.