DES MOINES – Republican presidential hopeful Sam Brownback is playing to Iowans who expect a first-hand look at presidential candidates.

Monday, the Kansas senator launched a four-day, 27-stop tour through Iowa, where he’ll visit city parks and town squares in a tour bus plastered with his name. His wife, Mary, and his two youngest children, Mark and Jenna, both 9, are along for the ride through Iowa, which kicks off the presidential nominating season with its precinct caucuses.

Brownback said he was looking forward to the road trip, which he hopes will attract attention to his message of uniting social and fiscal conservatives.

“A lot of times, you go into towns that frequently don’t get visited by candidates, and they’re excited to see you, and I think it will be a great public opinion bath for me from Iowans,” he said in a conference call with reporters.

Brownback has received far less national media attention than Republican front-runners Rudy Giuliani, John McCain and Mitt Romney. He said he’s willing to put in the extra effort to reach voters.

Monday’s portion of the tour, dubbed “Ames to the White House,” takes Brownback through central Iowa. He’ll be in northern Iowa on Tuesday, eastern Iowa on Wednesday, and wraps up the estimated 1,200-mile tour on Thursday making his way back to his campaign office in Ames in central Iowa.