By O. Kay Henderson (Radio Iowa)

Election Eve politicking saw the the top Republican statewide candidates flying to rallies in eight cities around the state, while Democrats at the top of the statewide ballot rallied in Council Bluffs, Sioux City and central Iowa.

On Monday morning, Governor Kim Reynolds spoke to a crowd at the Ankeny airport. “We aren’t taking anything for granted,” Reynolds said. “We are going to sprint right across the finish line and make sure that we have a big victory up and down the ticket.”

Reynolds was joined by Senator Chuck Grassley and other Republican candidates throughout the day.

On Monday evening, Deidre DeJear, the Democratic candidate for governor, rallied with a crowd at a Des Moines union hall. DeJear asked the audience if they’d been discouraged by this weekend’s Des Moines Register Iowa Poll that showed her trailing Reynolds by 17 points.

“This means it is now your duty to use your voice and let people know,” DeJear said, “…let people know that you support the next governor of this state. You have to use your voice now.”

DeJear and U.S. Senate candidate Mike Franken spoke at a rally in Ames last night, too.

On this Election Day in Iowa, the polls are open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. That closing time is an hour earlier than in previous General Elections.