AMES, Iowa — Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards kicked off a 36-hour push promising to campaign through the night in a final bid for votes ahead of the Iowa caucuses on Thursday. 

The 16-stop tour, called “36 hours for the Middle Class”, includes a stop in Creston, Iowa,  at 2:15 a.m. when the temperature is expected to be almost 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 c).

“We’re not going to be sleeping much,” Edwards, a former one-term senator from North Carolina, told an audience in Fort Dodge on the second stop of the tour.

Immigration, the war on terror, Iraq, Pakistan and the environment barely rate a mention in remarks Edwards is using as his last pitch to Iowa voters. In a tight race against rivals Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, the overwhelming topic is his determination to fight corporate greed.

“The richest Americans are getting richer at what cost? The cost is damage to the middle class. We can’t stand idly by and let this happen to our children. It’s time for us to stand up,” he told an audience of several hundred at Iowa State University.

“Some people keep on telling me: ‘You speak with so much energy and passion on this it sounds as though it’s personal to you.’ It is personal to me,” he said, telling stories of how his parents and grandparents struggled to raise him.

Edwards has been also focusing on universal health care and trying to end poverty. His message resonated with undecided voter Brian Lawson, 41, a railroad worker from Zearing, Iowa, who said he liked the idea Edwards’ health care plan because his son, a construction worker, had no private health insurance.

“I like his plans on health care, it’s guaranteed coverage, everybody is going to be covered, it’s time for a change,” Lawson said.

Crowds were enthusiastic at Ames and Fort Dodge but it was unclear what reception he would get in the middle of an Iowa night.

“It will probably be a limited number. I do not expect a big crowd at 2 a.m.,” he said. The event is billed as for core supporters. Once that’s done there will be a mere 18 hours and 10 events left to go.