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Hillary Clinton Has Coughing Fit During Speech in Iowa

January 25, 2016

Hillary Clinton was wracked by a coughing fit during her speech Monday to the Jewish Federation of Greater Des Moines.

Clinton's voice became a croaky rasp as she paused to unwrap a throat lozenge, and she joked that someone else should take over for her speech.

She continued on after a minute, and after a few more minutes her voice had gotten back to its normal pitch.

Clinton had a similar moment during her lengthy Benghazi Select Committee testimony in October, briefly halting the proceeding when she began coughing almost uncontrollably and needed a cough drop.

Clinton is swinging through Iowa with the caucus vote a week away and facing a tight race with 74-year-old Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.). Polls show them almost neck-and-neck there, and Sanders also has a strong chance to win in New Hampshire.

It was in Iowa in 2008 that Clinton was stunned with a third-place finish behind future President Barack Obama and Sen. John Edwards. She rebounded and won New Hampshire, but Obama eventually captured the nomination. For his part, Obama mentioned this weekend that he felt he had an unfair advantage over Clinton in 2008 with the media's treatment of him.

Despite her advanced age of 68, Clinton is the younger of the two serious contenders vying for the Democratic nomination.

Published under: Hillary Clinton , Iowa