DES MOINES, Iowa–Conservative talk show host and speaker Michael Reagan headlined an Iowa Republican Party dinner named in his father, Ronald’s, honor Tuesday night in Des Moines. Reagan urged a room of about 500 dinner guests to do more in the final 14 days of the campaign by embracing technology, reaching out more to young people and finding reasons to vote for a Republican candidate instead of finding reasons not to vote for a Republican candidate.

Reagan also weaved in a story talking about problems homeowners have in California, where he lives. “I think of the Democrats sometimes as termites,” Reagan said, “When you think of termites eating away at the foundation of your home. But in this case, they’re eating away at the foundation of the country.”

The dinner also featured many Republican candidates running for office, including governor, lt. governor, U.S. Senate, Congress, attorney general and state treasurer.

Republican Party of Iowa Chairman Jeff Kauffman announced that his party is now behind Democrats by just 321 in returned early ballots. Democrats traditionally successfully push early voting much better than Republicans.

Since Kauffmann took over as party chair in June, Republicans have made early voting more of a priority. But it remains to be seen whether the party’s early vote totals will simply reflect more Republicans voting before election day or whether it means the party will ultimately attract more voters overall for the election.