Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson is touring Iowa today, making multiple stops across the Hawkeye State in his run for the White House in 2024. The crowd that greeted him at the Hy-Vee on Madison Ave. in Council Bluffs, however, was decidedly small. In fact, it was difficult to tell who was there to see Hutchinson and who was just there for breakfast.

More than one person asked me personally who the tall, white-haired man was as he chatted with guests at various booths around the small eating area. One woman clearly wasn’t there to see him, angrily waving him away when he came to speak to her and telling me not to get her in any of my pictures. A second-grade boy, who came with an older woman for breakfast, was curious enough to approach Hutchinson on his own, asking his name as he chatted with Pottawatomie County GOP Chair Starlyn Perdue.

There seemed to be more reporters on hand than guests as well. Jack Keenan from KETV 7 did a brief interview with Hutchinson and talked with guests around the café. Jeff Zeleny from CNN was also there with a photographer for a story on Anderson Cooper’s program, which will be airing on Tuesday, June 20.

Despite the small crowd, Hutchinson worked the room, stopping by every table to chat with guests, whether they were here to see him or not.