DES MOINES — A wintry weather mix of sleet, freezing rain, and snow wreaked havoc on the presidential campaigns in Iowa today, forcing candidates and their spouses to cancel events across the state.

A storm that arrived last night has already shuttered schools and the airport in Des Moines and is expected to coat portions of Iowa with up to four inches of snow and more than an inch of ice by the end of the day.

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The Republican front-runner, Michael Huckabee, cancelled appearances in four cities during the morning and afternoon but is hoping to make it to Des Moines for a student forum at Drake University this evening. The former Arkansas governor appeared briefly this morning in Council Bluffs, about 130 miles southwest of Des Moines, to announce the endorsement of James Gilchrist. Mr. Gilchrist is the founder of the Minuteman Project, which has gained nationwide attention for its efforts to prevent illegal immigrants from crossing over the border from Mexico.

The endorsement from a prominent immigration hard-liner should help Mr. Huckabee fight back against attacks from Mitt Romney over his support for giving college tuition breaks to illegal immigrants in Arkansas.

With other events scuttled, Mr. Huckabee is now headed to Des Moines, and a spokeswoman said he planned to make an unscheduled stop en route to the capital city at the Bob Feller Museum in Van Meter, Iowa. The 89-year-old Hall of Fame pitcher, who played for the Cleveland Indians, was scheduled to campaign with Mr. Huckabee before the cancellation of his schedule, the campaign spokeswoman, Alice Stewart, said.

Elsewhere, Senator Obama’s wife, Michelle, cancelled all five of her events in the state today, and the weather wiped out three appearances for President Clinton in what would have been his second straight day stumping for his wife.

John Edwards scrapped a forum in Clinton, Iowa, but is still planning to keep later appearances in Davenport and Muscatine, weather permitting. The former North Carolina senator launched an eight-day bus tour of the state yesterday.

One event that survived the storm was a meet-and-greet that Mitt Romney planned for midday in Des Moines. A spokesman said the appearance would go on as scheduled.

Candidates from both parties are descending on Iowa this week for the final debates in the state before the caucuses on January 3rd.
Voters here can expect a flurry of activity over the next two weeks before the campaigns break for Christmas. Television ads are already saturating the airwaves, and the candidates are adding more each day. Mr. Romney’s first negative spot of the campaign made its debuted today, going after Mr. Huckabee on immigration. Democratic contenders Senators Dodd and Biden are also launching ads this week.

Forecasters expect the storm, which has been blamed for at least 22 deaths across the Midwest, to end by early evening, which should allow the remaining Republican contenders to fly in before their debate tomorrow afternoon. The Democratic debate is Thursday, and both are being held just north of Des Moines.