Jack Hatch, Democratic candidate for Iowa governor, and Monica Vernon, his running mate, made brief stops in Ames on Nov. 2 to meet with supporters and talk about their vision for Iowa’s future.

Hatch and Vernon spoke in the living room of the Margaret Sloss Women’s Center and were joined by a dozen supporters. Also in attendance were state Reps. Lisa Heddens, D-Ames, and Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, along with state Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames.

The campaign stop in Ames was one of the final stops of this election cycle in the race to unseat incumbent Gov. Terry Branstad, who looks poised to be elected to an unprecedented sixth term Nov. 4.

Quirmbach introduced Hatch with remarks about how proud he and other Democrats were of the hard work Hatch and Vernon have put in during the busy campaign season.

“I just want to tell you how proud I am of these two individuals. They’ve done us proud. They’ve taken on a tremendous burden and task of running for statewide office,” Quirmbach said. “I know how hard it to run for state Senate, that’s a lot of effort, but it’s pretty much one or two counties. They’ve taken on all 99.”

Quirmbach also said he looks forward to the work and policies Hatch and Vernon will work to implement if they are elected.

Hatch opened up his brief remarks talking about how he has made it a goal to meet with individual Iowans and discuss issues important to them during his campaign. Hatch mentioned an example of a mom who was concerned about her son dropping out of school. Hatch said he told the woman that he would work to raise the mandatory attendance age for high school students to 18 from 16.

“People say, ‘Why can’t we do that? What does it mean? More spending?’” Hatch said. “No, it’s means more investment.”

Hatch continued to speak about investment in education and also said he wants to open up state government to make it work better for Iowans.

Vernon spoke about the agenda the Hatch campaign laid out early on in the election cycle.

“We have an agenda we agree on and an agenda that’s laid out for people,” Vernon said. “Equal pay for equal work, raising the minimum wage and rebuilding the middle class.”

Vernon also said voters want to hear about the economy and jobs but investing in education is just as important, as those who are in education will be headed to the workforce.

“Education equals economic development in the state of Iowa, and we have to keep reminding people of that,” Vernon said. “So when [Hatch] talks about four-year old preschool, people say, ‘Oh, when is he going to get to jobs?’ That’s were you start.”

After education, Vernon wrapped up by telling supporters to get out and vote Nov. 4.

Hatch is currently a state Senator for Iowa’s 33rd district, which includes Des Moines, and Monica Vernon is currently a city councilwoman from Cedar Rapids. They are running against Terry Branstad and Kim Reynolds. Most polling has shown Branstad leading by double digits, and the latest Des Moines Register poll from Nov. 1 showed Branstad leading by 24 points.