Former Sen. John Edwards started off last week from a position of strength when he received the endorsement of Iowa Local 199 of the Service Employees International Union Monday.  He also received the support of several more SEIU state councils, who will be allowed to spend resources on member-to-member contact here.  After events connected with the endorsements in Iowa and elsewhere, Edwards campaigned around the state with former congressman and Dukes of Hazzard star Ben “Cooter” Jones, who has endorsed him.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign raised some eyebrows when it was revealed that it would hold a “Rural Americans for Hillary” summit at the Washington, DC, office of Troutman Sanders Public Affairs, a lobbying firm that represents controversial agribusiness giant Monsanto.  Clinton herself made a swing through Iowa over the weekend, stumping in Des Moines, Carroll, and Storm Lake.  Saturday, a direct mail piece defending Clinton’s vote in favor of the Senate resolution classifying the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist group hit Iowa mailboxes.

Sen. Barack Obama released his plan for rural America in the town of Fairfax Tuesday, making stops later that day in Vinton, Amana, and Tipton.  He announced the endorsement of State Rep. Mark Smith Wednesday.

Sen. Joe Biden kept his sights on Gov. Bill Richardson in campaign stops across the state.  He also received the first newspaper endorsement of the presidential campaign from the Storm Lake Times, a relatively small newspaper in Northwest Iowa.  Richardson gave an address on global threats in Des Moines Thursday, and he appears to be getting serious.  Sen. Chris Dodd has moved his family to Iowa, according to media reports.  Among other relatives campaigning for Dodd, the Connecticut Senator’s brother Tom (who is a former Ambassador and adjunct professor at Georgetown) performed duties as a surrogate last week.

For what they are worth, the two latest polls of the Democratic candidates in Iowa show Clinton in the lead.  Strategic Vision puts the New York Senator at 28%, Obama at 23%, and Edwards at 20%.  Rasmussen’s results differ slightly: Clinton is at 33%, Edwards is at 22%, and Obama is at 21%.  Notably, Biden is within the margin of error of Richardson in both polls (although both candidates remain in the single digits).  According to Rasmussen, Clinton attracts has a commanding lead among female voters, attracting 39% of their vote.

On the Republican side, former mayor Rudy Giuliani made a trip through Iowa last week emphasizing his fiscal conservatism after receiving the support of Texas Gov. Rick Perry.  His trip included a stop in arguably the most liberal county in the state.

Gov. Mitt Romney stumped in Eastern and Western Iowa on Wednesday and Friday, respectively.

And Sen. Sam Brownback dropped out of the race Friday.  Although he was registering very low in polls, he had endeared himself to many social conservatives in Iowa.  While many blamed his failure on poor fund raising, there are indications that the root causes were more strategic than financial.

The most recent polls of the Republican field in Iowa show Romney maintaining his first place standing.  Strategic Vision puts Romney at 27%, Giuliani at 13%, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee at 12%, former Sen. Fred Thompson at 10%, and Sen. John McCain at 5%.  (Brownback and Rep. Ron Paul both had 4%.)  Rasmussen registers Huckabee ant Thompson well above Giuliani, with Romney at 25%, Thompson at 19%, Huckabee at 18%, and Giuliani at 13%.  (McCain has 6%, and Brownback had 3%.)

Although the date of the Democratic caucuses remains uncertain, Monday, the Iowa GOP set the date of its caucuses for January 3.