In an effort to reach out to Iowa State and UNI football fans, Congressman Jim Ross Lightfoot’s campaign hit Ames Saturday to tailgate with Iowa State and UNI students and alumni.

Lightfoot, a Republican in the U.S. House of Representatives, is vying for incumbent Sen. Tom Harkin’s seat in the Senate. Harkin is a Democrat.

Sponsored by ISU’s College Republicans and the Story County Republicans, the event attracted many football enthusiasts with free burgers and pop.

Lightfoot said the tailgate was part of his campaign to target students around the state. At various schools, Republican groups are reaching out to college students, he said.

The congressman said financial aid is important to him because he has children in school. “We kind of understand … the costs,” he said.

Lightfoot said he has pushed for an IRA program that allows parents to put away money to help pay for their children’s education.

He said making the interest on a student loan tax deductible would help students as well.

“The direct loan is good in Iowa,” Lightfoot said. He said that it works especially well at ISU, where default rates for these loans are very low.

But the congressman wants to make getting a loan from a commercial lender, like a bank, easier for students.

Under this plan, a commercial lender would give the student money for college, though the money would be backed up by the government. In this guaranteed loan program, Lightfoot said, the government money would not be spent until a student defaults on his or her loan.

He said before any of this can happen, banking laws must change the currently confusing process. “The bottom line is to try to make more money available,” including money for tuition and books.

Lightfoot added that another key aspect of education is research, especially at ISU.

“We’ve worked very hard to see that Iowa State keeps research money,” he said.

“If a school comes to us with an idea, we’ll do all we can to support [it].”

With election day, Nov. 5, bearing down, Lightfoot is lagging in the polls.