Democratic presidential candidate former U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke will hold a private campaign event at the Iowa Veterans Home Wednesday.

O’Rourke is set to meet with Iowa Veterans Home Commandant Timon Oujiri and Executive Assistant Dex Walker and take a two-hour tour of the facilities beginning 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

One of the youngest candidates running to be the Democratic presidential nominee for the 2020 general election, O’Rourke’s profile rose to new heights in November 2018 when he put up a serious challenge to incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in Texas. Texas is traditionally a GOP stronghold at the statewide level.

O’Rourke has also been active on social media, making frequent use of Twitter and live streaming features.

The El Paso native visited Marshalltown in early April and gave a literal stump speech outside of the Mowry Irvine Mansion on West Main Street. There, he shared his platform of seeking bipartisan support and focusing on voters in rural America.

O’Rourke joined 19 other Democrats during last week’s primary debates. According to RealClearPolitics, a Politico and Morning Consult poll has O’Rourke in the middle of a very large pack of Democrats vying for voters’ attention.

That poll shows about 2 percent support for O’Rourke among Democratic primary voters. RealClearPolitics shows an average polling score of 3 percent support since June 6 for O’Rourke.

That puts him ahead of the likes of U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Cory Booker and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro. However, the polls still have O’Rourke trailing former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren and Kamala Harris, and South Bend, Ind. Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Wednesday’s event is private due to a need for privacy among Iowa Veterans Home residents.

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Contact Adam Sodders at

641-753-6611 or

asodders@timesrepublican.com