NEVADA — As she continues to build support in Iowa in an effort to secure the confidence of voters at the Feb. 3 Iowa Caucuses, Democratic presidential hopeful Tulsi Gabbard is continuing to direct her campaign toward people rather than partisan politics.

About three dozen people attended her campaign event Monday at Gatherings, an event center in Nevada, where Gabbard touted what she said is her appeal to people from different backgrounds and political leanings.

“I’ve never made my decisions based on what will or won’t be politically efficient and expedient,” Gabbard said to reporters following her speech Monday. “The result of that is — at every single gathering, town hall we’ve had, we have Democrats, Republicans, Independent and Libertarians coming together who are very concerned about the state of our nation today.”

The people Gabbard is attracting are potential voters like Nevada resident Whitney Lonning who is afflicted by a neurological disease that affects her basic motor functions and general health.

One of Lonning’s key 2020 issues is the decriminalization and subsequent legalization of marijuana, as the drug has helped alleviate effects of her illness.

“It’s an issue that is life or death for me, life and death for me as a parent, who is unable to provide for my boys,” said Lonning. “Gabbard’s proposals and her words on marijuana, have really made me look into her as the candidate for me.”

Gabbard has called for and introduced legislation that aims to deschedule marijuana as a Schedule I drug to limit felony offenses among marijuana users. She has also co-sponsored a large number of cannabis-related bills during her time in Congress, and she was the lead sponsor of a measure to require the federal government to study the impact of state marijuana legalization.

Her message is also transcending traditional political lines, like one voter in attendance for Gabbard’s visit to Nevada, who defined herself as a “economically-conservative, socially-moderate who has voted Republican.” The woman asked Gabbard if she’s the candidate that she can vote for to turn away from a “divisive political landscape.

Gabbard boldly answered, “I am.”

“This separation that you’re talking about, this segregation of sorts for both Democrats and Republicans, it happens,” Gabbard said. “I look at the substance of the issues. (Washington D.C.) is confused on what box to put me in — it causes a lot of consternation. I’m not in lock step with anybody, because I use my own brain and my own mind and I do my own research to actually look at these issues and talk to people with different perspectives.”

Gabbard, rolling off the momentum of qualifying for the Oct. 12 Democratic debates in Ohio, continued her people-first message on Monday, looking to address people-first solutions in the area of healthcare, and her main campaign platform: foreign affairs.

Gabbard said she aims to make healthcare in the United States, “by, of, and for the people,” and root out special interest and big money pharmaceutical companies that drive costs up.

“Healthcare continues to be an issue that I hear most often from people, and that there most concerned about,” Gabbard said. “Because the vast majority of people in this country are just one healthcare emergency from financial ruin. They worry about how they are going to be able to afford it, and it’s unacceptable.”

A former veteran who served in a field medical unit of the Hawaii Army National Guard in a combat zone in Iraq, and later Kuwait, Gabbard said an issue that is close to her is foreign policy and putting a stop to endless wars.

“The cost of the war of extends to every single one of us,” Gabbard said. “Since 9/11, we have spent over $6 trillion on waging these wasteful regime change wars for years and years. Wars that have cost us American lives, taxpayer dollars, that have caused pain, death and destruction to other countries and have made us less safe. Think about how many lives we could have save and how many taxpayer dollars we can save.”

A priority for Gabbard, if elected, would be to remove U.S. troops from Afghanistan, and the “new Cold War,” by de-escalating tensions between the United States and other world powers over nuclear arms.

As the national conversation continues to revolve around the House Democrats impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump, Gabbard has come out in support on the inquiry, after an initial stance that she didn’t support the move because it would be “terribly divisive.”

“My concern all along has been that impeachment has been used as a partisan talking point to undo the results of the 2016 election,” Gabbard said to reporters following Monday’s event. “The American people need to be the voices and votes that defeat Donald Trump in 2020. The information we’ve seen being released over the past week has increasingly raised any questions, and in my mind, speaking to potential concerns over abuse of power.”