Oct. 13, 2018
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Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., will visit Democratic leaders and early voters in Des Moines.
Sen. Kamala Harris will travel to Iowa this month, increasing the buzz around her possible run for president in 2020.
The California Democrat is scheduled to spend Oct. 22 and 23 in the state, whose caucuses are set to be the first-in-the-nation votes during the next presidential cycle.
Traveling to early voting states allows presidential hopefuls to make connections with local party leaders, donors and activists and lay the groundwork for any future campaign.
“We are all very excited,” Sean Bagniewski, chairman of the Polk County Democrats, said of Harris’ trip, which will take place two weeks before the Nov. 6 midterm elections.
Harris is scheduled to speak to Democratic activists and early voters in downtown Des Moines the night of Oct. 22 at an event put on by the local organization, Bagniewski said. She will be introduced onstage by Deidre DeJear, a candidate for Iowa secretary of state whom Harris has endorsed.
DeJear is the first black candidate in Iowa to run for a statewide office with a major political party.
Harris, who gained attention and plaudits among progressives for her pointed questioning of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, is also scheduled to swing through eastern Iowa and Cedar Rapids on Oct. 23.
The trip was originally supposed to take place the next week but was moved up when the Senate adjourned earlier than expected, Bagniewski said. Harris’ last high-profile stop in Iowa was in 2008, when she was San Francisco’s district attorney and campaigning for Barack Obama.
Along with Harris, Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts have been “the most requested” guests, Bagniewski said. Another 2020 hopeful, Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, may return to the state later this month.
