Kamala Harris stakes out left-leaning policy positions in first Iowa visit as a 2020 candidate

Kamala Harris introduced herself to Iowa Democrats on Monday night in a live, CNN-sponsored town hall, backing a "Green New Deal," Medicare-for-all and a ban on automatic assault weapons.

The made-for-television event, which drew hundreds of people on a frigid evening more than a year ahead of the state's first-in-the-nation caucuses, contrasted with those held by other caucus candidates who have held large rallies and smaller, informal events.

While her campaign's launch event Sunday in Oakland was heavy on biography and sweeping vision statements for the country, her first visit to Iowa as a candidate Monday night was focused firmly on policy.

More than a dozen Iowans asked the California senator questions ranging from her positions on paid parental leave to trade and foreign policy. While the event allowed Iowans to directly address Harris, the questions were submitted in advance to CNN.

Early on, Harris was pressed to defend her "tough-on-crime" reputation as a prosecutor, district attorney and state attorney general in California before she became a U.S. senator.

“I compare my record to any elected prosecutor in this country, in terms of the work that I have done to reform the criminal justice system," she said. "I am a daughter of parents who met when they were active in the civil rights movement — nobody had to teach me about the disparities in the criminal justice system; I was born knowing what they are.”

Though this was Harris' first visit to Iowa as a presidential candidate, she also was in the state before the 2018 midterm elections campaigning on behalf of Iowa Democrats.

Among those she supported was secretary of state candidate Deidre DeJear, who was the first African-American candidate nominated by a major political party for statewide office in Iowa.

On Monday, Harris announced she had named DeJear as her Iowa campaign chair, and she leaned into the historic nature of her own tenure and presidential campaign. Harris was the first female attorney general of California and the second African-American woman elected to the U.S. Senate. After the CNN event, DeJear stood near Harris as the Californian greeted those seeking to meet her.

"My mother used to have a saying, and she would say to me, 'Kamala, you may be the first to do many things, but make sure you're not the last,'" Harris said. "... With each barrier that we break, it's saying to all of us, 'Don’t be burdened by what has been. See what can be and strive for that.'"

Across campus from the town hall event, a few dozen people gathered to watch a live stream.

One of those people was Blake Clyde, a 29-year-old interior designer who has already committed to backing Harris. He said his early commitment excited him.

"It’s weird for me to pick someone so early, to see someone so early and say, 'That’s it,'" Clyde said.

Clyde said he identifies as a gay black man, and he’s experienced a shift in how he’s been treated since President Donald Trump won the 2016 election.

“We need to take a pause here and flip it on back and think about who we are,” Clyde said. “She’s going to lead us back to a country that will respect everyone again.”

Bill Neff, a 58-year-old Polk City resident who works in insurance, chuckled loudly when Harris was asked about how she would stay above the fray if she challenged Trump in a general election. But after one commercial break, Neff wanted more specifics.

“She covers a lot of territory, but she can more directly answer the questions,” he said.

Morgan Granger, a 25-year-old nurse from Waukee, was seated next to her mom as she watched the event. Granger hasn’t committed to Harris. She’s also looking at New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke and former Vice President Joe Biden.

Granger said she wants to see more from Harris and other candidates on climate change and the environment.

“I just want a leader who’s going to take that seriously,” Granger said.

Barb Dinnen, a 65-year-old retiree from Des Moines, said she was impressed with Harris’ balance of showing strength and humor. Dinnen has also seen Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand speak in Iowa.

“It’s way too early,” Dinnen said of who she’ll ultimately support. “But Harris has got a lot of the qualities I’m looking for in a candidate,” she said.

Event by invitation only

Though televised live, the event was not open to the public. Students, faculty and staff at Drake were eligible for tickets through a lottery system, and CNN invited likely Democratic caucusgoers and Democratic party leaders. Among those in attendance Monday were Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie, former Lt. Gov. Patty Judge and former Gov. Tom Vilsack.

The closed event created some consternation among those who could not attend.

"We were actively looking and couldn't find anything," said Steph Swartz, a 47-year-old law enforcement worker who lives in Des Moines. She watched the event from a screening on the Drake campus. Though she said she ultimately was pleased with the accommodation, "it would have been nice to get the word out about the event."

The event's format led rival Democrat John Delaney, a former U.S. representative from Maryland, to critique the senator.

"We invite any caucusgoers who were not guaranteed entry into other 2020 events to join us in Glenwood, Council Bluffs, Sioux City, Denison or Fort Dodge next week," Delaney's Iowa state director, Monica Biddix, said in a statement. "The Iowa caucus is the Iowa caucus because candidates are expected to leave the television set and talk to people face to face."

'I'm going to be here a lot'

Harris did, however, stop by the watch party to greet those Iowans who could not get tickets to the main event. She gave brief remarks and took a few questions.

"I flew out last night and then we drove into Des Moines at 2 o'clock in the morning, and here I am," Harris told the group. "And I’m going to be here a lot. You’re going to get sick of me. But it was so important to be here for so many reasons. You know, I wanted to do this town hall tonight just to kick-start the process. ... I really, really want to be here and listen as much as I talk. There are so many voices in our country right now that I think are being overlooked and not heard."

Harris was particularly receptive to the students among the watch party audience.

“The most vigorous, the most successful, the most robust movements in our country have been led by and fueled by students,” she told the crowd. “And so you guys, keep it up. Like, do you! Do you, because what you are doing is inspiring me and so many others.”

In a December Des Moines Register/CNN/Mediacom Iowa Poll, 5 percent of likely Democratic caucusgoers said Harris was their first choice for president in a head-to-head comparison of 20 possible candidates, putting her in fifth place behind Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, O'Rourke and Warren.

Forty-nine percent of respondents said they have a favorable view of Harris, 10 percent had an unfavorable view and 41 percent were unsure.