Beto O'Rourke takes questions at CNN town hall

Cris Wildermuth, an associate professor at Drake University, asked Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke what his stance is on beginning impeachment proceedings against President Trump.

O'Rourke added that it's "not something that I take lightly."

"It is an incredibly serious, sober decision to make as a country," he said.

O'Rourke cited the White Houses's refusal to comply with congressional subpoenas and Attorney General William Barr's failure to show up at a House hearing in his rationale for calling for impeachment proceedings.

O’Rourke has previously called for Trump’s impeachment. He said Tuesday that Democrats should not worry -- as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said -- that doing so could energize Trump’s base ahead of the 2020 election.

He said Democrats should “look past those short-term consequences” and focus on obtaining documents and evidence. The only way to do so, he said is, to “compel the testimony, the furnishing of those documents, through impeachment proceedings.”

At stake, O’Rourke said, are “very sanctity of the ballot box and the very future of the world’s greatest democracy.”

"If we do nothing because we are afraid of the polls or the politics, or the repercussions in the next election, we will set a precedent that, in fact, some people, because of the position of power and public trust that they hold are above the law," he said.

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Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke recently livestreamed his haircut. The move drew some criticism.

Tonight he explained why he did that.

Here's what he said:

Watch below:

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will soon take the stage at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Troy Price, chair of the Iowa Democratic Party, spoke directly to voters moments before the town hall about the importance of the 2020 presidential election.

The audience members are likely caucus voters, meaning they identify as Independents or Democrats.

Beto O’Rourke met with voters and toured areas damaged by flood ahead of tonight's town hall in Des Moines.

On Monday, he began his trip by touring flood damage in Davenport, then hosted a town hall there later that night.

O'Rourke met with Iowans again today at a town hall in Tipton.

The former Texas congressman has held 154 town halls in venues like coffee shops, diners and houses since launching his presidential bid in March. He'll hold his first one staged for national television today.

Democratic presidential hopeful Beto O'Rourke will appear tonight at Sheslow Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa.

Located on the campus of Drake University, the auditorium, which was renovated in 1992, holds 775 seats, according the school's website. It's also listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

During renovations, workers restored the auditorium's more than 50 stained glass windows and applied 35 tons of plaster to the ceiling by hand, according to the website.

What happened here today: Drake University's mascot, Griff the bulldog, stopped by the auditorium earlier today to meet with O'Rourke and CNN's Dana Bash, who is moderating the town hall.

Here's a look:

Former congressman Beto O'Rourke, after an early burst of momentum, is dealing with middling polling numbers in a crowded field of Democratic candidates seeking to take on President Trump next year.

The Texas Democrat — whose national profile raised during his failed 2018 Senate bid against Republican Ted Cruz — has now been officially campaigning on the 2020 trail for two months. 

Here's what else you should know about O'Rourke:

Beto O'Rourke released his plan earlier this month to tackle climate change in his first major policy proposal as a 2020 candidate. 

Here's what he wants to do:

Why this matters: Climate change has become a major issue for 2020 Democrats in the wake of a stark 2018 report from the global scientific authority that says governments around the world must take "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" to avoid disastrous levels of global warming. The planet has only until 2030 to stem catastrophic climate change, the report, issued by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, warns.

Democratic presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke will address a host of issues at a CNN town hall tonight.

CNN's Dana Bash will moderate the town hall from Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman who lost a high-profile Senate race to incumbent Sen. Ted Cruz last year, announced his long-anticipated presidential campaign in March.

He enjoyed a strong launch, raising $6.1 million on his first day in the race and calling for the national hierarchy "to be broken apart" at his first rally in his hometown of El Paso.

But a CNN poll last month of Democratic or Democratic-leaning independent voters shows O'Rourke in fifth place with 6% — a drop from 13% in the previous poll.

After facing criticism for having been found to accept the second highest number of campaign contributions from the oil and gas industry, O'Rourke signed a pledge earlier this month to reject oil and gas executives' donations on top of continuing his Senate race policy of not accepting donations from outside groups and super PACs. He also unveiled a plan to combat climate change that same week that would invest $5 trillion in infrastructure and innovation projects over 10 years with the goal of net-zero emissions by 2050.

O'Rourke has also strategically endorsed some more progressive initiatives, such as a Medicare expansion plan that would provide universal coverage without the elimination of private insurance central to the far-left Medicare-for-all plan.