College student asks Beto O'Rourke 'Are you here to see Beto?' after bumping into him in bathroom at rally

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox

Get our free Inside Washington email

Please enter a valid email address

Please enter a valid email address

SIGN UP

I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy

Beto O’Rourke made have got off to a flying start to his campaign for the presidency, but there are signs he is struggling for recognition amid a crowded field of Democrats hoping to take on Donald Trump in 2020.

One potential voter – a college student who turned up to hear Mr O’Rourke speak at his university in Iowa – revealed how he spoke to the candidate in the bathroom without realising who he was.

“I was in the bathroom, minding my own business and I was washing my hands,” Matthew Rowland, a University of Iowa student told the Iowa City Press-Citizen. “And this guy asked me how it was going, and I said good … going for some small talk.”

The student then asked the man: “Are you here to see Beto?”

He said Mr O’Rourke looked up, smiled and replied: “That’s me.”

Despite the awkward encounter, Mr Rowland said he was pleased to speak to the former congressman from Texas. “I was in awe and shook his hand. A super polite guy. I’m just glad I got a chance to meet him.”

Keen to appeal to young voters, the candidate has held more than two dozen town hall events at colleges in different six states since announcing his candidacy last month. He has argued in favour of a free community college program and the refinancing of college debt.

Last month Mr O’Rourke set a new fundraising record for the Democrats, raising $6.1m (£4.6m) in just 24 hours.

Yet the latest Morning Consult survey has Mr O’Rourke languishing in fourth place in a poll of nationwide Democratic voters, enjoying just 8 per cent support.

Former president Joe Biden is out in front on 32 per cent, ahead of Senator Bernie Sanders on 23 per cent and Senator Kamal Harris on 9 per cent.

A recent poll of US investors shows a vast majority of them expect Mr Trump to win a second term. More than 70 per cent of Wall Street insiders told RBC Capital Markets that the president would win in 2020.