On the road to the Sept. 12 Democratic debates in Houston, presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders is scheduled to visit Ames on Sunday with an event at the Hansen Agriculture Student Learning Center on 2508 Mortensen Road.

Sanders, who represents the top-tier three Democratic contenders in regards to polling, alongside with former Vice President Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren will be featured in next week’s debate.

In most national or state polls, Kamala Harris and South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg remain at the periphery of the top three spots and round out a top five of 2020 Democratic candidates, while lower-polling candidates have largely failed to move up the polls, or have ended their campaigns entirely.

Sanders’ has gained a wide range of appeal among the collegiate crowd, dating back to his 2016 presidential campaign, and has touted in past county visits, his student-debt plan to make college completely free — at a cost of $2.2 trillion over 10 years.

This will be Sanders’ fourth trip to the Ames area this campaign season. He held a campaign event at Iowa State University’s Memorial Union in May, followed by stops for Fourth of July events in Ames and Slater, and a barn party sponsored by the Iowa Farmers Union near Nevada later in July.

In his previous visits, the Vermont senator has expanded on his “Medicare for All” policy, which envisions a future in which all Americans have health coverage and pay nothing out of pocket when they visit the doctor.

His plan, the Medicare for All Act, describes a benefit package that is more generous than what other single-payer countries, like Canada, currently offer their residents and includes new income taxes on both employees and employers.

The Sanders’ campaign event is promoted as grassroots college tailgate tour, with first-come, first-serve entrance when doors open at 12:30 p.m.

The most recent national average polling numbers, courtesy of Real Clear Politics, has Sanders hovering around 16 percent, behind Warren and Biden.