Before Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang started talking to Iowans at Drake University in January, organizer Michael French had a question for the crowd.

"How many of you are 'Yang Gang'?" he asked the crowd, which many answered with cheers. "OK, how many of you are 'Yang-curious'?"

The "Yang-curious" cheer was quieter, but a number of people raised their hands. "We'll have volunteers come talk to you after," French promised.

It's a common refrain at Yang events: Volunteers and organizers asked the question as he stopped at bowling alleys, coffee shops and community centers across Iowa to give his presidential campaign pitch to Iowans in the final weeks leading up to the Iowa caucuses.

Yang has steadily made headway in Iowa in how many Iowans say he's their No. 1, according to CNN/Des Moines Register/Mediacom Iowa Polls. But he hasn't broken into the double digits, where U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg have been for months.

Yang says there's still time to shore up support. And his campaign is getting feedback on the trail to gauge that progress.

Yang has been campaigning in Iowa every day since Jan. 18 and plans on being here until the Feb. 3 caucuses. At every event, organizers hand out cards asking how attendees ranked Yang — first through fifth choice for caucus support — before and after seeing him speak. The card strategy appears to be unique to Yang's campaign.

Sondra Schreiber, who saw Yang speak in Des Moines, said she wasn't sure about Yang's plan to have the federal government give each U.S. adult $1,000 a month when she had first heard it. But, after hearing him speak, she felt more confident both in the policy plan and his presidential campaign.

She's still making up her mind for the caucuses.

"I always had a good impression of him, but when he explained in more detail about his idea about $1,000 a month, I had a much better grasp on his ideas than what I heard on the debate stage," she said. "I understood what his arguments were a lot more clearly — I think because he had a good rapport with the audience, and it felt like he was actually listening."

Yang has gained recognition and support in Iowa since he announced his presidential run. In every Iowa Poll since March 2019, Yang has increased by 1 percentage point. He jumped 2 percentage points between November and January and sat at 5% total first place support from likely Democratic caucusgoers in mid-January.

Yang is a much better-known — and better-liked candidate — than he was a few months ago. In March 2019, only 7% of likely Democratic caucusgoers said they viewed him favorably, and 81% were not sure what they thought of him. Now, only 14% say they are not sure about their opinion on him, and 61% view him favorably.

Aviva Jotzke, a 17-year-old planning for her first caucus, used her phone as a writing surface as she filled out the "caucus rank" card at Yang's Des Moines town hall on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Yang was her third choice candidate and remained in third place after seeing him speak.

Jotzke's mother, Tanya Keith, moved Yang from fifth place to fourth place after seeing him speak.

"I don't think I've ever heard an idea from him that I'm not supportive of," Keith said. "But I don't think he's got enough policies or ideas that make people turn their heads and go, 'Yeah, I'm definitely caucusing for you.'"

That's not true for die hard supporters, whom Yang's campaign calls the "Yang Gang."

Everett DeVaux, 22, who had seen Yang speak before, said he brought friends with to a Marion event. He brings up Yang with family, friends or anyone who seems interested in talking politics — and said that once people understand Yang's positions or hear him talk, they like him a lot.

Yang has persuaded some through appearances on podcasts, like the Joe Rogan Experience and H3 Podcast, said DeVaux. But the conversion works even better when people see him in person.

"Honestly, just watch him when he's on stage — he's always so good with the very minimal time they give him," he said. "And that's what being in Iowa is supposed to be about, right? Retail politics are everything here and, good for him, it's his strong suit."

Yang said he's banking on the Iowa caucuses to show that he has serious momentum. He hopes that will encourage more conversations — in the media and among other candidates — about issues important to him and his supporters, such as automation displacing workers, competing with China on artificial intelligence and implementing a universal basic income.

"You can make it better, and you alone," Yang said at his Marion campaign stop. "There is no other Iowa."

Robin Opsahl covers political trends for the Register. Reach them at ropsahl@registermedia.com or 515-284-8051. Support reporters who follow your government by becoming a subscriber. Sign up at DesMoinesRegister.com/Deal.