WEST DES MOINES, Iowa — As a group of undecided Democratic Iowa Caucus goers evaluate their 15 choices, members have found that they share a curiosity: What would it be like to sit down for a beer with New York entrepreneur Andrew Yang?
To be clear about this: The undecideds are still undecided. No one is now 100% committed to supporting Yang, a first-time candidate, in the upcoming Feb. 3, 2020 caucuses. But many in the group of Iowans–recruited by Essman Research in West Des Moines–said that Yang has captured their recent attention more than the other candidates.
“Something very sincere about the way he levels with you when he’s talking to you,” said Ann Rezarch, 66 of Ames, who retired from the Department of Human Services and considers herself a “very liberal” person.
While her fascination with Yang has increased, Rezarch admits that she has had her eye on Yang for a while. “I’ve liked him secretly all along (laughs),” she said, “…he could be the one that I would end up caucusing for. I haven’t decided for sure.”
Pascha Morgan, who works for the non-profit organization Creative Visions in Des Moines, also finds himself watching Yang. “He is brilliant. The man is brilliant,” Morgan said.
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, another Democratic presidential candidate, caught the intrigue of another member. Retired college professor Sandy Glenn, of Cedar Falls said, of Klobuchar, “I think she speaks to the upper Midwest very directly and very specifically.”
Glenn said that Klobuchar may not be especially charismatic, but she likes the idea of her standing on the same debate stage as President Donald Trump. “He seems to have a knack for denigrating everybody, whether it’s a nickname or a characteristic that he finds,” Glenn said, “I think she would just probably not tolerate that. I have a feeling she’d be strong against him.”
Here is what the group’s members said when asked which candidate they want to have a beer with:
Sandy Glenn: Klobuchar, Yang, Cory Booker
Pascha Morgan: Yang, Booker, Tom Steyer, Elizabeth Warren
Ann Rezarch: Yang, Sanders, Booker (“and then another one with Yang,” she added)
Robin Thompson, an Ames caregiver: Yang, Bernie Sanders, Klobuchar
Trevor Brass, a Sioux City attorney: Yang, Warren, Booker
Hannah Drollinger, an Iowa City musician: Yang, Booker, Sanders
Thom Davis, a retired Johnston college professor: Yang, Warren, Klobuchar
Carlos Arguello, hair salon owner from Grimes: Yang, Sanders, Warren
Kim Dejoode, a teacher’s assistant from Knoxville: Yang, Warren
