CRESCO, Ia. — U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, of Ohio, argued that liberal policies go hand in hand with support for the working class in his first visit to Iowa as a possible presidential candidate.

Brown's stops Thursday and Friday, part of a three-day swing through the state on his "Dignity of Work" tour, took him to small venues like a public library in Perry, a Hy-Vee in Mason City and the Iowa Wrestling Hall of Fame in Cresco, where he chatted with a few dozen Democrats each time.

He told reporters he'll decide on a presidential run in March. If he does run, he said workers will be at the core of his message.

"Democrats simply aren’t talking to working class families," Brown said. "It’s almost like this view that you either talk to the progressive base to excite them or you talk to working class families and you hear about their families and their problems. And no, you’ve got to do both."

Brown, 66, has been a mainstay of Ohio politics for decades. He served in the state Legislature, as secretary of state and in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was elected to the Senate in 2006.

In Cresco, his first stop, he touted his support for unions and his liberal bona fides including votes against NAFTA and the Defense of Marriage Act, which banned same-sex marriage, in the 1990s. He called for expanding health care to more Americans and called climate change "one of the great moral issues of our time."

The northern Iowa community of about 3,900 residents is the county seat of Howard County. Former President Barack Obama carried it by 21 points in 2012 and President Donald Trump won by 20 points four years later.

Brown said he and his wife, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Connie Schultz, chose Cresco for their first public stop because they come from similar communities in Ohio that are often ignored.

"Wall Street just totally ignores communities like this and so, too often, does state and national government. So we chose to come here," Brown said.

At a Friday roundtable in Perry, farmers told Brown about factors they said are harming rural Iowa communities, from student loan debt to hospital closures to tariffs.

Brown called tariffs "a temporary tool ... not a long-term trade policy."

"Trump has made them a long-term trade policy because he’s not really doing good negotiations with China," he said.

Warren Varley, a farmer and lawyer who ran unsuccessfully for the Iowa House as a Democrat last year, told Brown that to win over Iowa farmers he needs to talk about economic concentration, not just tariffs and ethanol.

"They’re scared about the future, automation, the concentration of economic power; that’s what we need to do differently if we’re going to put this country back on course," Varley said.

Mark Rhodes, a social studies teacher from Decorah, said he believes Brown — whom he called "a progressive, plainspoken sort of candidate" — could win back Midwestern states for Democrats if he runs.

"I've been following Sen. Brown for a long time and I'm sort of really hoping he enters the race," Rhodes said.

Becky Olafsen, who lives in Iowa’s rural Winneshiek County, said Brown's "dignity of work" message appeals to her. She echoed Brown's message that whatever job a person has, it should pay well enough to support them.

"I'm a teacher, career teacher, and I've heard people say 'If you don't stay in school you're going to end up working at McDonald's,'" she said. "What's wrong with that?"

Olafsen said she hasn't decided on a candidate for 2020, but she said the Democrats have a wealth of talent to choose from.

At one stop, Laura Wright, a 40-year-old Decorah resident, asked Brown about his plan to ensure she and others can afford health care. She said she has a medical condition that would cost her more than $6,000 a month without health insurance.

Brown described legislation he has introduced in the Senate that would allow Americans to buy into Medicare at 55. He said Democrats are largely in agreement on health care despite calls by several presidential candidates to transition to a Medicare for All plan.

"We want to do Medicare at 55. There is universal agreement on that," he told reporters. "Some want to get to Medicare for All immediately. … I think it’s something we can get done to extend Medicare for a 58-year-old who loses her job or a 62-year-old whose plant closes."

After Brown's event in Cresco, Wright said she appreciated his answer.

"I appreciated the fact that he was not looking for perfection but was asking how can we create a solution that everybody can get behind," Wright said.

Brown picked a frigid week to visit Iowa. Temperatures in Cresco hovered at about six below Thursday evening, although the weather improved Friday.

Before leaving for Iowa on Thursday, Brown tweeted a picture of himself and Schultz on a plane.

"The pilot just told all of us that it's so cold it's impossible for ice to form," Brown tweeted. "We're bundled up and ready to go. See you soon, Iowa!"

On Friday, J.D. Scholten's newly-formed nonprofit, Working Class Hero, held a roundtable event in Mason City with Brown, State Sen. Amanda Ragan and Rep. Sharon Steckman to talk about how to raise awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which Brown has championed in the Senate. Scholten gained prominence by nearly ousting Republican U.S. Rep. Steve King in Iowa's 4th District in November.

"It means two, three thousand dollars in people’s pockets at tax time and it can change lives," Brown said. "It can help pay off debts; it can help with the utility bill in cold Mason City in the middle of January."

Iowa GOP Chair Jeff Kaufmann criticized Brown, saying that Iowa has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.

"Senator Brown, you’ll have to find some other out-of-touch message," Kaufmann said in a statement. "I can assure you Iowans know plenty about the dignity of work."

Brown's tour is set to continue Saturday with stops in Dubuque and Clinton. The tour will also include visits to three other early-voting states: New Hampshire, Nevada and South Carolina.

If he decides to run for president, Brown would join a sprawling field of Democrats that could grow to more than two dozen.

A December Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed that Brown was relatively unknown among likely Democratic caucusgoers. Twenty-three percent viewed Brown favorably, 8 percent viewed him unfavorably and 69 percent were unsure.

One percent of poll respondents said he is their first choice for president.

Register reporter Brianne Pfannenstiel contributed to this report.

Follow the Register on Facebook and Twitter for more news. Stephen Gruber-Miller can be contacted at sgrubermil@dmreg.com or on Twitter @sgrubermiller.