One of the key pieces of Vivek Ramaswamy’s Iowa plan: Free beer

AMES, Iowa — In the basement of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house here at Iowa State University, Vivek Ramaswamy made his pitch to a crowd of about 50 young men — and one young woman — on a Friday evening last month, as a campaign that often attracts more men than women took on a literal frat house atmosphere for a night.

The fraternity brothers peppered Ramaswamy with questions about cryptocurrency, "woke" indoctrination on campus, and crime on the streets of Chicago before honorary brother Ramaswamy threw a question at them himself.

“Do you guys have suggestions to us and our team here for how we can get large numbers of college students, say here at Iowa State, to come out on Martin Luther King Day evening?” asked Ramaswamy, fishing for ideas on getting young voters to caucus on Jan. 15. “I saw some party buses on the way in here,” he added. “I’m open to any idea.”

Ramaswamy, unbowed by public polls showing him struggling in the single digits in Iowa, insists that he is inspiring a wave of first-time caucusgoers who are going to deliver a surprise next week. And he is certainly attracting a number of young men to events around the state, though high-minded civic engagement isn’t the only reason they are attending.

Throughout his campaign, Ramaswamy has been hosting what his campaign bills as “Free Speech and Free Drinks” events on college campuses, where the multimillionaire picks up the bar tab for students in exchange for their attention as he tries to persuade them to caucus for the first time. Iowa residents, including college students from out of state, who are eligible to vote in the 2024 election are eligible to caucus.

These events draw largely male crowds — and exceptionally fratty atmospheres.

During