Gage Miskimen | The Des Moines Register

AMES, Ia. — During his 15th Iowa office opening Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang asked the people in the packed room what had made them decide to come.

"Was it the TV ads?" Yang asked the crowd Thursday. No hands were raised.

"Alright, we wasted all that money," Yang joked. Instead, people said they'd heard him on the Joe Rogan podcast and The Breakfast Club, a morning talk show.

Yang launched a seven-figure TV ad campaign in November, but many of his young supporters have found out about him from podcasts, YouTube or friends.

"I wasn't big into politics until now," Iowa State student Brenner Stickney said.

Stickney came to the office opening with fellow ISU student Thomas Anderson.

"I know Yang because Thomas is a huge fan," Stickney said.

The Ames office event was one of several field office-openings Yang has held during his five-day Iowa tour. The stretch of Iowa events is the entrepreneur's longest since launching his campaign just over two years ago.

His events attracted crowds of ardent supporters and curious residents.

Kelsey Kremer/The Register

In Grinnell on Tuesday, so many people turned out that some had to stand outside in the cold and watch the candidate through the office's front window.

Grinnell resident David Neville brought his kids, ages 9 and 11, to Tuesday's office opening to educate them about politics.

"They talk about politics in school," Neville said. "It's a good opportunity to see how the system works. I'm hoping to talk about it afterwards and talk about different ideas around the dinner table."

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Neville said he is still "shopping around" for whom he will caucus.

During the tour, Yang also played a basketball game with 4th District challenger J.D. Scholten and planned to attend the men's basketball Cy-Hawk game with two Ames residents with disabilities.

"I love campaigning in Iowa because you all are very smart and savvy and understand the power you have," Yang told the Des Moines Register editorial board Tuesday. "People here in Iowa don't compare you to other candidates this cycle, they compare you to candidates from 12 years ago, or in some cases, 24 years ago."

David Digby, 73, of Ames came to see Yang at his Ames office opening Thursday. Digby, who said he may caucus for billionaire activist Tom Steyer, said he's been listening to all of the candidates.

"Everybody knows about the cash giveaway," Digby said, referring to Yang's plan to give every adult American $1,000 a month. "He's also got a good grip on technology and the importance of that."

Digby also said he's unsure about if a universal basic income would be successful.

"On the face of it, it's attractive," Digby said. "But I don't see how, in reality, it would really work. I'm skeptical ... I want a sense of how viable he really is. I think us Iowans take this first-to-caucus thing seriously and we all need to be informed."

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Election 2020: Andrew Yang, a Democrat campaigning for president in Iowa

During the tour, Yang also released a policy on controlling the cost of prescription drugs, which includes allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, as well as establishing public manufacturing facilities to make generic drugs.

He's qualified for December's Democratic debate, which he learned during his meeting with the Register on Tuesday, making him the seventh candidate to qualify and the only candidate of color to do so.

In Ames, Yang said President Donald Trump addressed some of the same issues when he was running for president in 2016 that Yang is talking about in his campaign.

Specifically, Yang opposes the current method of measuring gross domestic product, which Trump had spoken out against as a candidate. Yang has said he prefers a quality of life measurement that would factor in median income, life expectancy and childhood success rates, among others.

"Trump got some of the problems right. He said he was going to 'make American great again.' And what did Hillary (Clinton) say?" Yang asked the crowd. " 'America was already great.' That was the wrong answer, and it's been a long three years."

Yang will finish up the last two days of his Iowa bus tour Friday in the Waterloo area and Saturday in Iowa City.

Gage Miskimen is a news reporter mostly covering West Des Moines, Waukee, and Clive for the Register. Reach him at gmiskimen@dmreg.com or 515-284-8234.