The venue was packed with more than a thousand people waiting to see Pete Buttigieg, and a chant had broken out for the Democratic presidential candidate a few minutes before he took the stage.

Kasey Peters, inside the hall, did not chant along. He did not hold up a sign for the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor, like some around him, or outwardly applaud Buttigieg's remarks. The 31-year-old compliance analyst was there just to listen.

The Saturday event was only Peters' second time seeing a candidate in person this Iowa caucus cycle. He saw U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts nearly a year ago, when she first announced her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. Peters had effectively tuned out the crowded race since then, and he's still undecided.

Things will change in the weeks ahead, as Peters goes to other candidate events and reads up on policy proposals.

“Now that we’re getting closer to caucus, I’m diving in,” he said.

With a month to go before the Feb. 3 caucuses, Iowans like Peters appear to be everywhere. Multi-candidate events draw large turnouts from fervent supporters, but there are also those in the first-in-the-nation caucus state who are not sure which candidate to support. They're only now beginning to venture out to see the candidates in person, despite the inundation of political ads on television and nearly 2,000 public events candidates have hosted in Iowa in 2019.

“I am one of the undecided,” declared Jenny Burton, a social worker who attended the West Des Moines Buttigieg event. Burton noted that she had met author Marianne Williamson in Des Moines a few days earlier. Burton is actively considering multiple candidates, including Williamson and Warren.

“I’m trying to get in with anybody who’s coming to the community," Burton explained about her caucus strategy in the weeks ahead.

Burton added about the candidates: "I respect all of them, almost equally. That’s why it’s so difficult for me to narrow it down to one."

'Undecideds' spark hope for low-polling candidates

In September, a Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll showed just one in five likely Democratic caucusgoers said their minds were made up, while 63% said they could still be persuaded to support a different candidate.

An Iowa Poll released in November showed an uptick in decision-making: More respondents — then at 30% — said they had a first choice and their minds were made up. But 62% who said they had a first choice also said they could still be persuaded.

That indecision has been a lifeline for several presidential hopefuls in the lead-up to the Iowa caucuses, despite a shrinking debate stage that has limited some candidates' exposure.

Dave Waters of Boone saw U.S. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey speak in Adel on Dec. 20. The senator, who failed to make it onto the debate stage in Los Angeles the day before, was on Waters' list of possible picks.

Waters said he has usually decided which candidate to caucus for by now.

“There’s too many good ones,” Waters said about his dilemma this time.

Some likely caucusgoers are in no rush to figure things out.

Jim Oxendale, who saw U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota at a Dec. 22 event in Ida Grove, said he won’t make a final decision “until the last 15 minutes” before the caucuses.

"I think this is a very serious thing," said the 70-year-old Oxendale, who also lives in Ida Grove. "And it makes me nervous to commit to somebody too early because we’re a long way from February."

After hearing former Vice President Joe Biden speak in Tipton on Saturday, West Liberty resident Faye Petersen said she is "beginning to think that perhaps he’s the one."

Even so, Petersen added, she is still undecided — she also likes Klobuchar, Booker and entrepreneur Andrew Yang — and she fully expects to change her mind at least a few more times before she attends her caucus.

“I will make it up before then,” she said, dismissing any pressure to choose.

“Every darn one of them is way better than what we have,” Petersen said.

Still a lot of candidates to choose from

Peters, who attended the Buttigieg event in West Des Moines, said he tuned out for most of last year because there were so many candidates in the race. That number has dropped only a little, from a high of more than two dozen to 15 candidates.

Peters said while his interest in Warren has subsided, he likes Buttigieg. He is also intrigued by former U.S. Rep. John Delaney from Maryland.

“He’s someone I’d like to look a little more into,” Peters said of Delaney. “… He’s kind of been someone I’ve paid attention to the whole time he’s been in the race.”

Peters said he knows several friends who are undecided like him. He said some have expressed interest in U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders from Vermont and Yang.

“Everybody is still exploring,” he said.

Rachel Foubert is also undecided, but that wasn’t always the case.

The 25-year-old teacher had committed to caucus for Kamala Harris. Now that the U.S. senator from California is out of the race, Foubert is actively looking for the next person to support. She attended a Biden event in Williamsburg on Dec. 27, in part because it was close to her home in North English, about 30 miles away.

But Foubert has found no favorites yet that resonate with her the way Harris did. So she plans to see as many candidates in person as she can. The Biden event was the first for her. She said she was drawn to Biden’s experience with foreign diplomacy.

“I just want someone who can beat Trump,” Foubert said.

Sometimes the decisions come unexpectedly.

Mathew Kelly came to see Buttigieg at a town hall in Knoxville on Sunday with his young daughter. Kelly said he liked Buttigieg and Klobuchar, and he planned to give himself some time to make a decision.

“I think I just need to hear them speak and do more research,” he said before Buttigieg addressed the crowd.

After the event, Kelly signed a card committing to caucus for Buttigieg.

Register reporters Brianne Pfannenstiel and Austin Cannon contributed to this report.

Barbara Rodriguez covers health care and politics for the Register. She can be reached by email at bcrodriguez@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8011. Follow her on Twitter @bcrodriguez.

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