Donald Trump (file photo)

Donald Trump (file photo)

The two national frontrunners for Democrats and Republicans campaigned in Iowa Tuesday.

Republican Donald Trump told a crowd in Cedar Falls he is “not exactly thrilled” with polls in Iowa that show Ted Cruz “is a little too close for comfort.”

“Smart would be to say: ‘I want to do well.’ That way, if I come in second, everyone’s going to say: ‘Oh, he did well.’ I don’t want to do that. I want to win,” Trump said. “…I think a lot of people are going to come out who haven’t been caucusing before.”

Trump said he doesn’t want to be a “wise guy”, but he said Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum — the past two Iowa Caucus victors — didn’t wind up in the White House.

“You haven’t picked a winner in so long now. It’s been so long,” Trump said. “You need a winner. I’m going to win.”

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton made stops in Ames and Dubuque Tuesday and she’s telling audiences the campaign has entered the “let’s get real” phase.

“You’ve got to know what you stand for,” Clinton said. “You’ve got to be able to defend it and you’ve got to withstand the barrage of attacks that will come against our Democratic nominee.”

Clinton did not directly mention recent Iowa polls showing rival Bernie Sanders surging here, but Clinton did critique Sanders’ record. She’s questioning whether Sanders would “stand up” to the National Rife Association and she’s suggesting Sanders can’t just “wave a magic wand” and fulfill some of his campaign promises “in the real world.”

“These are important differences that Caucus-goers should have a chance to compare and contrast because it really matters what we stand for as we go into a General Election against the Republicans,” Clinton said, “because I will give them this — nobody in America does better at tearing people down than the Republicans.”

Republican presidential candidates Jeb Bush, Mike Huckabee and Rick Santorum plan to campaign in Iowa this morning before leaving to prepare for Thursday night’s debate on the FOX Business Network. Bush will be among the seven candidates in the prime time “top tier” debate. Huckabee, Santorum and Carly Fiorina will be in an “undercard” debate beforehand.