ADEL, Iowa -- A pizzeria in this small city west of Des Moines was the setting for a celebrity visit Thursday from an actor once famous for talking about nothing.

But these days, Jason Alexander -- who played George Costanza on the TV series "Seinfeld" -- is a surrogate for Barack Obama, and he insists he has a lot on his mind.

"I am hardcore middle class.  And I stepped in a puddle.  And that puddle was called, 'Seinfeld,'" Alexander told about 50 supporters of the president.  He said the job put him in the upper echelons of society.

"I do not want to live in that 1-percent.  I don't believe in it," he continued.  "I don't think our country, or any country, runs well when the 1-percent is thriving and the rest are suffering and struggling."

The supporters were gathered to listen to Alexander and then walk to a nearby elections office to cast early votes for President Obama -- just one of a number of statewide events marking the start of early voting Thursday in Iowa.

Alexander told the crowd he has a "man-crush" on Obama, who he said he has met several times.

Later, in an interview with NBC News, Alexander praised Obama as a man of "conviction" and "principle," though he allowed that such lofty considerations would be beyond the reach of the man he played on television during the 1990's.

"George would probably think he was the only savior for this entire race.  He would step forward as a write-in candidate," Alexander said.

Both campaigns seem to be hoping their supporters will step forward, too -- and stick to the script.

In downtown Des Moines earlier Thursday, officials said foot traffic at the elections office had reached about 250 people by late morning -- more than double the first day of early voting in 2008.

"This was by far the busiest opening day we’ve had in the ten years I’ve been in the office," said Jamie Fitzgerald, the commissioner of elections in Polk County.

An Obama campaign volunteer waiting to vote there, Kathy Stuart, said the campaign made a push to gather supporters.

"They were trying to get people to come to breakfast, and then come to vote early," she said.  "They were really interested in getting as many voters to the polls as possible."
Iowa Republicans also threw events Thursday focused on early voting.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas rallied Mitt Romney supporters in Cedar Rapids, and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad held a conference call with volunteers Thursday evening.

DALLAS, TX -- When Mitt Romney takes the stage in Fort Worth tomorrow, it will be at his first public event in the Lone Star State this campaign season, but far from his first visit to collect cash from Texas famously wealthy Republican donors.

Romney will spend two full days in Texas, where, in addition to tomorrow's only public event, he'll be raising money at a downtown Dallas mansion built In the 1800s, and on Wednesday along San Antonio's famous River Walk and in Houston, where Romney last stopped in Texas in March to collect the endorsement of former President George H. W. Bush and first lady Barbara Bush.

"People on both sides of the aisle treat Texas like an ATM, they come down and get their money and leave," one national republican campaign operative explained. The state's 38 electoral votes are safely in the Republican column, and both parties know it.

The governorship has been solidly Republican since George W. Bush replaced Ann Richards in 1995, and both senate seats are all but certain to remain in Republican hands after the November elections.

That hasn't stopped either Romney or President Barack Obama from spending valuable time wrangling donors here, with Romney raising $5.9 million dollars in Texas, and the Obama campaign pulling in $6.4 million through the end of April, according to FEC records. Texas Governor Rick Perry raised $10.7 million in his brief White House bid.

Some of the top donors to pro-Romney SuperPAC, Restore our Future, were also born, educated and made their millions here, including home-builder Bob Perry, who attended Baylor, and entrepreneur Harold Simmons, who attended the University of Texas.

While Romney raises millions in Texas, he'll be dealing delicately with the state's local politics and national political history.

Romney has conspicuously not endorsed a candidate in the state's multimillion dollar Republican senate primary runoff, set for July, between Lt. Governor David Dewhurst and the Tea Party-backed former Solicitor General Ted Cruz. Both men have powerful backers as the race has assumed an outsized image nationally. Governor Perry and former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee back Dewhurst, and Sarah Palin and Rick Santorum have endorsed Cruz.

Romney's campaign has been silent on which candidate he believes would best replace retiring Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison.

Romney is not expected to be seen with the state's most famous politician, former President George W. Bush, who now lives in Dallas and is building his presidential library at Southern Methodist University. Sources close to the former president say he is unlikely to appear with Romney during his swing through Texas, and Romney's campaign has not returned multiple requests for comment as to whether Bush might show up at a closed-door fundraiser with the candidate.

Also not appearing with Romney: Governor Perry. After dropping out of the race in January, Perry backed Romney-rival Newt Gingrich for a time, before ultimately supporting Romney when the latter clinched the nomination. Perry will be in San Antonio when Romney campaigns in Fort Worth, and in Fort Worth when Romney raises money in San Antonio.

In Fort Worth, Perry will be speaking at the Texas GOP convention. Romney's campaign has not announced any plans for the governor to attend.