A recent New Hampshire poll by CNN shows him in last place, but Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch is not throwing in the towel, and he will be visiting Iowa State today as part of the Presidential Caucus Series.

Hatch, who has served in the Senate for 23 years, will be talking with students and faculty about higher education at 1:30 p.m. in the Gallery of the Memorial Union in an attempt to attract younger voters.

“We are definitely building momentum and building our support base in Iowa,” said Margarita Tapia, national deputy press secretary for the Hatch campaign.

Tapia said the youth vote is important to the Hatch campaign.

“College students are also voters, and it’s important to get their input,” she said.

Tapia said “accessibility to higher learning” has been an important campaign issue for Hatch, who paid his way through college at Brigham Young University by working as a janitor.

Hatch’s Iowa campaign includes addressing several hundred community college students throughout the state, as well as Des Moines high school students.

Hatch will also be talking with ISU political science professor Steffen Schmidt for this week’s WOI “Dr. Politics” radio show to be aired Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m.

Schmidt said many Iowa voters already have made up their minds on whom to support in the upcoming caucuses, and Hatch isn’t faring too well.

“At this point, he’s not one of the top three and has a pretty steep uphill climb to come out of the Iowa caucuses with a decent showing,” he said.

The New Hampshire poll commissioned by CNN included responses from 504 potential Republican primary voters in New Hampshire. Hatch came in last with less than 2 percent of the support.

However, Hatch has raised almost $2 million to help his campaign.

Schmidt said Hatch is probably the most experienced of the Republican candidates, which Schmidt considers to be his biggest strength.

Support for Hatch in Iowa has increased since the departures of Elizabeth Dole, former Vice President Dan Quayle, former Gov. Lamar Alexander and Rep. John Kasich from the race.

“I think people feel that he’s trying to build his organization up,” Schmidt said.

“I think his campaign has gotten more on track, but he’s still a long shot,” he said.