COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) — Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton says he’s not in Iowa laying the groundwork to run for president, but is touching on familiar themes of those who have. He told about 100 Iowa Republicans at a fundraiser Friday night in Council Bluffs he “loves Iowa so much I married a woman born here,” referring to his wife Anna, who was born in Sioux City.

But, besides the typical Iowa pandering, Cotton laid out a broader vision. He called for the national unity that followed the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001. Cotton, who was elected in 2014, noted Republican President Donald Trump’s victory, but grouped it generally with GOP wins in November that he attributed to general dissatisfaction with Congress and the federal government.

Yet despite those wins, Cotton called on his audience to aspire to better days.