IOWA CITY, Iowa — Beto O’Rourke saw firsthand what it's like to be just another presidential candidate during a sleepy town hall event Sunday afternoon as the enthusiasm and star power he sought to generate hit ground truth in Iowa.

O'Rourke, 46, a former Texas congressman, started 30 minutes late, and the University of Iowa student union ballroom remained less than half filled as the candidate gave his pitch to fewer than 120 students, families, and retirees before taking questions. Many of those were not committed to O'Rourke.

A number of attendees remarked to the Washington Examiner that O’Rourke’s crowd was smaller than they anticipated, particularly in a city of 75,000 with a major university. The crowd was less than half the size of audiences drawn by O'Rourke's rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, at similar events in smaller towns.

Some high school students appeared to have ulterior motives for being there. Julian Wallace, 18, was clad in O'Rourke garb but told the Examiner that he was only wearing it as proof for an extra-credit assignment. His friend Aaron, 17, seemed to be sizing up the competition for his preferred candidate, saying he thought O'Rourke lacked the "big ideas" of former tech executive Andrew Yang.



Beto O'Rourke rally Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Simonson/Washington Examiner)

Beto O'Rourke rally Iowa City, Iowa. (Joseph Simonson/Washington Examiner)



Spectators noted that O’Rourke’s campaign seemed to struggle getting out information about the event, which was awkwardly timed on a Sunday afternoon when students are attending religious services, participating in extracurricular activities, or nursing a hangover.

Others in attendance said they were there just to hear the perspective of other candidates. One woman in the audience asked O'Rourke how he planned to define himself from all the others in the race.

"We're shopping, we're open to other candidates. Wanted to see Beto in person," a woman named Kelly, who was in the crowd with her husband, told the Examiner.

One Iowa student even ran into O'Rourke in the bathroom before the event started — except the student asked him if he was there to hear O'Rourke speak.

"I was in the bathroom, minding my own business and I was washing my hands," Matthew Rowland told the Iowa City Press Citizen. "And this guy asked me how it was going, and I said good, 'How's it going,' going for some small talk," before finding out that the man next to him in the bathroom was O'Rourke.

O’Rourke’s campaign didn’t give a final tally, but the crowd appeared to be significantly thinner than those fellow candidate Sanders garnered in other towns across eastern Iowa. Hundreds of people crammed in smaller venues to see the 77-year-old independent senator from Vermont. Perhaps 150 listened to O'Rourke speak in Iowa City.

During a press gaggle after the rally, O’Rourke admitted that he’s noticed fewer reporters at his events since he announced his candidacy on March 14.

“I’m learning, I’m becoming a better candidate,” O’Rourke told reporters.“There are fewer members of the media as we’re leaving these events," he said. "I like that the ratio has changed a little bit as we have moved on, but I’m really struck by how kind people are, how seriously they take their responsibility to themselves and the rest of the country.”

Much of O'Rourke's time in Iowa was spent at "house parties," in the homes of local supporters, events he needs to do to find Iowans who will commit to caucus for him. Sanders, who has a supporter network of roughly a million people, can afford to hold more standard campaign stops.

With candidates like South Bend Mayor Peter Buttigieg now leading O'Rourke in the polls, his youth no longer gives him an easy contrast with frontrunners, former Vice President Joe Biden and Sanders. While O'Rourke stresses how he's constantly learning on the campaign trail, many voters find Buttigieg's thoughtful style more attractive.

Recent surveys of Iowa voters place O’Rourke towards the bottom of declared Democratic candidates, at 5%, according to the Real Clear Politics average. Buttigieg currently leads O'Rourke in the state at 11%, according to a recent Emerson poll. Iowa will hold the first vote of the 2020 primaries.

A day after he declared his candidacy, O’Rourke raised a record-breaking $6.1 million. That number wowed many in the media, but reality set in for O'Rourke as quarter one fundraising numbers came in and he found himself significantly behind Harris and Sanders at $9.4 million.

Much of the enthusiasm surrounding O’Rourke comes from his Senate run in 2018, in which he challenged incumbent Texas Republican Ted Cruz and lost by 2.6%.

[ Read more: Trump dreams of facing Beto O'Rourke in 2020]