Beto O’Rourke heads back to Iowa as poll shows him No. 3 among Democrats

Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke speaks to a crowd of supporters on the campus of Texas Southern University on Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Houston. The stop in Houston is part of a 3-city "official" campaign kickoff as he runs for president. less Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke speaks to a crowd of supporters on the campus of Texas Southern University on Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Houston. The stop in Houston is part of a 3-city ... more Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Photo: Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Beto O’Rourke heads back to Iowa as poll shows him No. 3 among Democrats 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

With his stock rising in some early polls and campaign money flowing to him, Beto O’Rourke is headed back to Iowa this week for a string of public events.

On Wednesday, O’Rourke begins a four-day run through Iowa that will include at least 10 cities and towns as he tries to build support in the critical early voting state.

It will be O’Rourke’s second pass through Iowa. After announcing his candidacy on March 14, O’Rourke spent the better part of three days in eastern Iowa. His trip this week will be focused on central and western Iowa.

His poll numbers in the primary have climbed since his announcement. In a Quinnipiac University poll released late last week, O’Rourke was the choice of 12 percent of Democratic voters nationwide. Only former Vice President Joe Biden, who is not yet in the race, and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders were ahead of him. Biden was the choice of 29 percent and Sanders was picked by 19 percent of the 1,358 people polled from March 21 to March 25. The poll had a margin of error of 3.3 percentage points. Former San Antonio mayor and HUD secretary Julián Castro was the top choice of 1 percent of respondents.

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O’Rourke, a former El Paso congressman, is also surging financially. After raising $6.1 million on his first day in the race, O’Rourke says he finished March with another $1 million over 24 hours just before midnight on March 31.

Campaign records detailing how much he has raised since jumping in the race in mid-March have not been released publicly. Other candidates are also releasing fundraising numbers. Sanders announced he’s raised $18.2 million since he jumped into the race in mid-February. U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris, a California Democrat, announced she has raised over $12 million since she joined the race in late January.

Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who has been in the race since late February announced he’s raised $7 million.

On Saturday, O’Rourke made a three-city stop in Texas, which included a stop in Houston.