U.S. Democratic presidential candidate O'Rourke meets voters in Waterloo, Iowa

DES MOINES, the United States, March 16 (Xinhua) -- Democratic presidential candidate and former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke Saturday met and greeted voters at a downtown square in Waterloo, some 200 km northeast of Des Moines, capital of the U.S. midwestern state of Iowa.

Standing on a pickup and in front of more than 200 audience, O'Rourke touched upon healthcare, immigration and education topics.

"(We must) ensure that every single American seeing a doctor can afford their prescriptions, can take their child to a therapy," he said.

O'Rourke also talked about topics like asylum seekers, refuges, school teachers, education, among others, in front of the audience.

When O'Rourke showed up, his supporters chanted "Beto, Beto" in chorus.

O'Rourke announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential race on March 14, 2019. Before coming to Waterloo, he has had meet-and-greet in Fort Madison, Burlington, Muscatine and Mt Pleasant in Iowa.

Born in 1972 and graduated from Columbia University, O'Rourke was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2012. Instead of seeking re-election in 2018, he ran for the Senate and narrowly lost to Republican incumbent Senator Ted Cruz.

As a comparatively young politician, O'Rourke's campaign bet heavily on social networks like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Snapchat and Instagram specifically to get his message out to targeted voters and donors.