Amid the smell of cooking hamburgers and horse barns, two presidential hopefuls stopped by the Boone County Fairgrounds on Friday to meet with locals.

Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., and Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-Colo., were on location to talk to people one-on-one about the domestic and international issues that mattered most to them.

“This is where it all starts &#8212 many candidates enter, few leave,” Brownback said of his campaign in Iowa.

The appearance was his third stop in Iowa of the day.

Brownback promoted his “pro-life, whole-life” position, which cements his position as an anti-abortion, humanitarian candidate.

“A child in the womb, a child in Darfur … life is sacred in all stages, in all places,” he said.

Brownback said the current Social Security system does not work the way it should, and he intends to make changes.

“I want to give [college students] the option of starting personal Social Security accounts,” he said.

Tancredo’s supporters were unanimous in their support of the congressman’s key campaign issue &#8212 immigration reform.

Alan Moore, Tancredo’s press secretary, said Tancredo’s stance on immigration could be summed up with three points: enforce the law, secure the border, and go after employers who break the law.

“It’s the most important domestic issue in the country right now,” Moore said.

Moore said the strict policy should not be controversial.

“It has nothing to do with race at all,” Moore said. “It’s about enforcing the law and securing our borders &#8212 it’s not radical at all.”

If elected, Tancredo said he wants to do something about the problem of student loan debt.

“Students need to make choices on where they go to school &#8212 often times it’s just what they can afford,” he said.

The politicians were only on hand for about a half-hour each before they moved on to their next campaign stops.

“We’re fortunate in the state of Iowa to be able to have face-to-face time with the candidates,” said Marti Streeter, co-chairwoman of the Boone County Republicans. “Some states never see a candidate &#8212 ever.”