Kim Norvell

knorvell@dmreg.com

It’s 7:40 p.m. and Rand Paul is pulling into Des Moines. His wife, Kelley Paul, is in the front seat; his senior political adviser is driving the black SUV.

The Kentucky senator landed in Iowa 11 hours ago and has traveled more than 300 miles since. His voice notably hoarse from speaking at four campaign stops, he asks his team: “Is this the same place as last time?”

That same place is Buzzard Billy's, the downtown restaurant that held a campaign-hosted Halloween party. The campaign this time has organized a birthday party for Paul, who spent his 53rd trip around the sun with voters in the western half of the state.

The relaxed, party-type atmosphere has been a staple for the Republican presidential hopeful’s campaign in Iowa and beyond. He’s hosted more than one football tailgate party, has met with caucusgoers at bars under the banner “Pints for Liberty," and once participated in batting practice with the Davenport River Bandits.

It’s a strategy political experts say gives Paul a chance to stand out from a crowded field, particularly for a candidate courting younger voters. If Iowans want to ask questions of the former ophthalmologist in a more casual setting, Paul will oblige with a beer in hand.

And while he’s often criticized for being brusque, it’s one of his more captivating qualities, attendees at campaign events last week pointed out.

“I feel like when he talks he’s not feeding me a bunch of crap,” said Tim Sirianni, 40, at Paul’s birthday party. “He’s not telling me what I want to hear, he’s telling me what he really believes.”

Taking advantage of a relaxed setting

The events help reach young people who are not as comfortable mingling in the “traditional Republican setting,” Paul said. The same is true for socializing with his volunteers — many of whom are in their 20s and 30s.

“It’s a time for me to hangout and socialize with them as kind of a thank-you from me to them for all the hard work they’re doing,” he said in an interview with The Des Moines Register last week. “If you have a marketplace that you dominate, you want to monopolize that marketplace.”

Eric Woolson, a Republican strategist, said this type of casual campaigning not only speaks to the kind of caucusgoers Paul wants to attract, but also indicates he sees an opportunity — a niche — that other Republicans haven’t fulfilled.

“So often we criticize candidates for trying to be something they’re not. So it’s an indication to me that he’s being true to himself,” Woolson said. “I think it’s a smart, smart fit.”

But that’s not to say Iowans outside of that demographic are forgotten. Paul's Iowa schedule in the last year includes trips to coffee shops, public libraries, Pizza Ranches, and even a truck stop.

Paul typically speaks for 15 to 20 minutes at these events, sometimes billed as a town hall related to specific policy but more often as a candidate meet-and-greet. At every event, supporters can line up for a picture with Paul before he’s introduced. His campaign says more than 7,000 photos have been taken with Iowans alone.

While he generally hits on the same points at campaign stops, he does not deliver a scripted stump speech. Audience members always have a chance to ask questions of the candidate and there’s a press gaggle at each stop.

The campaign is in and out within an hour.

Photos: Rand Paul campaigns across Iowa

Courting the youth vote

The campaign — and Paul himself — insist they don’t appeal to just one category of caucusgoer. Their approach is aimed at voters of all backgrounds and party affiliations, said Steve Grubbs, his chief Iowa strategist.

But it’s clear they’ve found a voice with college-age kids and millennials. They have organizations on 22 campuses in Iowa (400 nationwide) and have a goal of getting 10,000 students to caucus, according to the campaign. Paul’s birthday party in Des Moines last week attracted about 200 people, mostly under the age of 35. In Davenport the next day, the crowd of 250 skewed older.

Grubbs said while it can seem risky to rely on young caucusgoers, they’re confident their ground game educated young caucusgoers on the ease of the process on Feb. 1. It’s also another reason they hold such casual events, he said, so Paul supporters can meet other caucusgoers in their precinct and make the experience a group affair.

“Campuses are the best place to organize,” Grubbs said. “This is an important part of the effort and we expect to see it be a significant portion of our vote.”

It’s also why the campaign says Paul doesn’t do well in the polls. Grubbs said younger people are a group that “comes in under the radar” because they either avoid polling or don’t have landlines. According to a Des Moines Register/Bloomberg Politics Iowa Poll, Paul has 5 percent support in Iowa.

Photos: Rand Paul celebrates birthday on campaign trail in Iowa

Direct and honest approach

Young voters interviewed by the Register last week said Paul stands out because he’s honest and direct. Maddie Maher, 24, of Des Moines said she doesn’t feel like Paul beats around the bush when it comes to policy, whether he agrees with a person's question or not.

“He sticks to his guns and always says what he believes,” she said. “He doesn’t sound like a lot of the other politicians that we hear and are used to.”

Perhaps that’s why journalists often say the senator appears grumpy or uninterested in campaigning.

Asked if he enjoys the campaign process, Paul dismissed the notion as “nitpicking from the press” but acknowledged it’s “a lot of hard work.” Paul said he wouldn’t do it, however, unless he didn’t really think “the country faces serious problems.”

“If anybody tells you they love politics and they want to be a politician, they’re probably the person you need to run head-long away from and not elect,” Paul said. “I think you want somebody who actually might rather be with their family or might rather be a physician doing something where you really see results.”

He rarely smiles on the trail, unless he’s cracking a joke about wasteful government spending or poking fun at his own appearance. Last week, he told several Iowa crowds he takes first place for worst-dressed politician in America. The senator wore a black turtleneck under a black V-neck sweater, a navy blue blazer and his trademark jeans. The outfit was completed with worn-in snow boots — a day after poking fun of fellow Republican Marco Rubio for wearing shiny, heeled boots — but he said they were so old he couldn't remember the brand.

"I'm not much for laws, but maybe they should have some laws about bullying politicians. They make fun of my hair, they make fun of my clothes.

“This cost $7.99," he quipped while pulling at the unassuming turtleneck. "That's a good deal!"

Both Sirianni and Maher agree Paul’s way of campaigning shows he’s not an average politician and is willing to get personal. Having a beer with supporters “just shows that he’s one of us,” Sirianni said.

“That’s what (young voters) do and so he goes and does it with them,” Maher added. “I think it’s cool.”

Photos: Rand Paul stops at barber shop in Waterloo

Bringing liberty back

At Paul’s events throughout Iowa there’s several buzz words an attendee won’t leave without hearing — debt, civil liberties, small government, and “common-sense, reasonable” foreign policy.

His message is liberty-focused and centered on the Constitution — issues that capture the attention of young voters that talked to the Register at his events. They say they appreciate he’s not eager to intervene in the Middle East, wants to reduce national spending, and wants to bring the country back to the ideals of the Constitution.

For 33-year-old Kevin Gillen, who attended a meet-and-greet in Council Bluffs, the ideas of small government and personal liberty almost feel “fresh,” even though they’ve been around for hundreds of years.

“For the last 30 years we’ve had differing shades of gray from both sides. What we’ve done, the status quo, is not working,” Gillen said. “And so what we need to see is a drastic departure from what we’re doing. And that’s what this (Paul campaign) is, getting back to those simpler ideas of people looking out for themselves.”

Political experts agree young voters want to hear the message Paul is spreading. Tim Hagle, political science professor at the University of Iowa, said this group wants to hear something different when it comes to foreign policy, data collection, and reduced sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.

Grubbs, Paul’s Iowa strategist, thinks it’s the “leave me alone coalition” that strikes the biggest chord.

“It’s also their generation that’s being asked to go fight wars in the Middle East,” Grubbs said. “And while I’m absolutely certain that they’re ready to step up and defend the homeland at any time, a lot of them are skeptical about being sent to Afghanistan to fight a war that has been going on since they were toddlers.”

COMPARE THE CANDIDATES: Review issue stances for Paul and other candidates

Organized ground game

Less than an hour after Paul pulled into Des Moines last week, he was standing on the table in the back room of Buzzard Billy's eliciting chants of "President Paul!" and "End the Fed!" from the raucous crowd that spilled into the hallway.

Paul had just unrolled a scroll that listed the names of the 1,007 precinct captains committed to caucus for the senator Feb. 1. The scroll was anchored by rolling pins. In between were 21 sheets of stationary separated by Rand stickers.

The senator's voiced cracked when he asked the crowd four questions: "Are there any lovers of liberty in the house?"

"Does anybody here want the government just to leave you the hell alone?"

"Anybody here think the government ought to be so small we can barely see it?"

"Anybody here think it's about damn time we turn out all the Washington politicians and send them home?"

After a 12-hour day, in less than two minutes Paul had delivered his most rousing speech of the trip.

MORE CAUCUSES:

Trademark joke

Rand Paul likes to point out wasteful spending in government and routinely speaks of a study done to determine whether Japanese quail are more sexually promiscuous on cocaine. “Do we really need a study to know the answer to that?” he asks. “They are.”

He also tells a joke about a little girl who wrote a letter to God asking for $100. The postmaster sent her letter to the president, who sent her $5. Though unimpressed, she still wrote a thank you note that read: “Dear God, Thanks for the money. But next time don’t send it through Washington, they stole 95 percent of it.”

Keeping fit

Paul said exercise is an important ritual for him and his family. He rides his bike, runs on the treadmill and swims in his at-home endless pool. “That’s the worst part about days like today,” he said while on the trail last week. “If people think I’m grumpy, I’d be a lot less grumpy if I had 30 minutes on the treadmill.”

On the clock

A look at the senator’s schedule for Jan. 7, his 53rd birthday.

6:45 a.m.: Departs New York City, where he spent the previous day doing 11 television interviews and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

10 a.m.: Arrives at the Council Bluffs Public Library for a meet-and-greet.

10:55 a.m.: After speaking with the media for 10 minutes, Paul leaves Council Bluffs. In the car he snacks on a Kind Bar and a Diet Coke while catching up on the news and responding to emails. They stop at Culver’s, where he eats a pork sandwich.

1:10 p.m.: Paul arrives in Sioux City at the public library for a meet-and-greet. He spends an hour in the city. In the car he makes several phone calls, including an interview with Alan Stock of KXNT in Las Vegas.

4 p.m.: The team arrives in Carroll for another meet and greet.

6 p.m.: Paul hosts an eminent domain town hall in Boone where he’s given a birthday cake from a supporter.

7:05 p.m.: Paul sits for an interview with the Register while he’s being driven to Des Moines. He plays several songs on his phone, including his latest obsession, “Good To Be Alive (Hallelujah)” by Andy Grammer. “I make them listen to all my songs,” he said. “That’s the only time I really try to exert executive authority.”

8:10 p.m.: The senator arrives at Buzzard Billy’s for his birthday party. The crowd serenades Paul, he gives a short speech and drinks a Beaverdale Brick by Confluence Brewing Company. He leaves less than an hour later for a birthday dinner with his wife at Johnny’s Italian Steakhouse.

Top three issues

Spending and debt: Paul has vowed to balance the budget and cut spending in all areas. He’s concerned the United States spends $1 million a minute and calls the country’s debt its biggest threat to national security.

NSA spying: Paul does not support bulk collection of personal data from Americans. He has vowed to end domestic spying programs and require a warrant for any and all data collection.

Term limits: Paul proposes enacting term limits to end the notion of “career politicians.”

About Rand Paul

Age: 53

Education: Paul attended Baylor University for three years before earning his Doctor of Medicine from Duke University.

Family: Wife, Kelley Ashby Paul; children William, 22, Duncan, 19, and Robert, 16.

Current home: Bowling Green, Ky.

Elected office: Paul was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2010. He has held no other political office.

Other career highlights: Paul owned his own ophthalmology practice and performed eye surgery for 18 years. He founded the Southern Kentucky Lions Eye Clinic, which provides free eye exams and surgery to needy persons.

About this series

This is part of an occasional series of stories on the major presidential candidates as they campaign in Iowa in the final weeks before the caucuses.