Valley residents fill Mesa cafe to watch Iowa Caucus

MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - At the Iowa Cafe in Mesa, many of the regulars are winter visitors looking for a taste of their home state and tonight, they're watching the caucuses from more than 2,000 miles away.

"I never got too excited about the caucuses before, but this year, I've been excited about it and my children are excited about it. In fact, this is the first caucus they're going to, too," Stan Krouse said.

Krouse and his wife, Marcella, wanted to be home for the caucuses, but Arizona's warmer weather was a bigger draw.

Living in Iowa, this time of year not only means cold weather, but also lots of candidates trying to get your vote.

"They ask you to support them, they ask you to send money, they ask you to vote for them," Marcella Krouse said. "You know, the usual."

"Eight or nine of the presidential candidates on campus speaking, and it's been very interesting," Stan Krouse said.

Iowa Cafe owner Pam Ohsman says even though the eyes of the nation are on her home state, the usual topic here is the food, not politics.

"There's two things I don't typically discuss with my customers and that's politics and religion," said said. "But we could hold a caucus here, at the Iowa Cafe! We could make our own decision!"