Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., will be in Ames at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to celebrate the opening of his campaign office in Ames.

The event will be at the Brownback For President office, 526 Main St., and will bring an end to the presidential candidate’s four-day bus tour.

Brownback calls himself “a conservative Iowans can trust” in his promotional material, and he is known for his strong anti-abortion stance and work on humanitarian issues.

The senator often says he is “pro-life and whole-life,” meaning he and the rest of the Republican party should be as concerned about people in poverty and other life-threatening situations as they are about unborn children.

At the opening of his campaign office in Des Moines, Brownback said he believed people should be looked at “as people, not problems.”

This philosophy, he said, reinforces his wish to overturn Roe v. Wade, as well as his wish to bring help to such areas as the Darfur region.

He is openly religious. At the same event he said, “I’m a strong advocate of faith in the public square.”

The candidate said such a position is not in conflict with the principle of the separation of church and state.

While in Iowa, Brownback has promoted himself as someone Iowans can relate to, given his agricultural background, growing up on a farm and working in Kansas.

The senator has put a lot of emphasis so far on the upcoming straw poll, which will be held in Ames on Aug. 11.

The significance of that event has been questioned, since candidates John McCain, R-Ariz., and former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani have decided not to participate in it.

Rob Wasinger, Brownback’s campaign manager, said at the Des Moines opening he had no doubt of Brownback’s ability to win the presidential race, with his victory beginning in Iowa.

“We’re going to win Ames,” he said.