COUNCIL BLUFFS, Ia. — Kamala Harris was coming to the end of her Fourth of July barbecue in western Iowa when she heard the question from someone in the crowd.

“Republicans seem to get in the dirt and fight. Democrats like to stay where they have a shower, real close,” the metaphor began from the unidentified man, who was nestled among hundreds at the Council Bluffs pavilion near the Missouri River. The sun was setting, and neighborhood fireworks were going off nearby with more frequency.

The man, whose comments made Harris and others initially chuckle, said he had heard a lot of ideas from the crowded Democratic field for president, but nothing that convinced him they could take on Republicans, alluding to President Donald Trump.

He asked the California senator: “How are you going to get in the dirt?”

Harris had received dozens of questions at that point during her three-day swing through the state, but few that so clearly teed up her next point.

“You’re absolutely right. We need a fighter on that stage, in that general election,” Harris said. “And good ideas and pretty speeches are not going to be enough … I know how to fight.”

Following a breakout performance at the recent Democratic primary debates, Harris returned to the first-in-the-nation caucus state with renewed momentum that has crystallized in news coverage, recent polling and even fresh endorsements from some Iowa Democrats. The former district attorney and California attorney general, who often brings up her legal background, also had renewed focus to underscore a message she's been pitching for months: That she is best positioned to take on Trump in November 2020.

After applause from the audience, Harris ended her remarks on a serious note: “There is so much to fight for and so much at stake. And we can’t afford to be lovely, and then lose. So we need to know how to fight.”

‘After the debates, she sealed it’

The messaging appears to be making inroads. Sue Genereux, of Waukee, welcomed Harris' approach. She remains undecided, and Harris' debate performance has the retiree taking another look.

"She's a strong woman," the 70-year-old Genereux said of Harris after seeing her at a West Des Moines picnic Wednesday. "She's got the fire in her and the strength to stand up against Donald Trump."

Josh Jablonski was one of the millions of people who watched Harris and nine other Democrats speak during the second night of the debates on June 27, where she challenged former Vice President Joe Biden for not supporting mandatory busing to integrate schools during the 1970s.

The breakout moment was widely replayed on cable news networks, and a new Suffolk University/USA TODAY Poll conducted after the debate showed Harris in second place in Iowa among the crowded field, behind only Biden. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

“We’re 100 percent Kamala,” Jablonski said, a decision solidified after Harris' debate performance. “Before that, I was like, ‘She’s my top choice, but I’m open to other people.’ After the debates, she sealed it.”

An Omaha public school teacher, Jablonski held his sleeping 7-month-old son on Thursday while he and his wife waited to shake hands with Harris. He described Harris as “strong” and “confident.”

“That’s what we need to take on Donald Trump,” the 29-year-old said. “We need someone who’s going to stand up on the stage with him and not back down whatsoever.”

Bob Jordan, a 66-year-old from Council Bluffs who works in construction, said Harris’ debate performance also impressed him. A longtime Democrat, Jordan liked the way Harris challenged Biden over busing, a topic that later spilled out onto the campaign trail over the holiday. Harris’ visit to Iowa coincided with those of several 2020 hopefuls.

“Someone needs to be able to shake it up a little bit,” Jordan said. “And the fact that she would actually stand up to Joe Biden, no matter what the issue was … she was able to look him in the eye and say, ‘Hey, that bothered me,’ and basically speak truth to power.”

‘People saw how she could perform on a national stage’

The debates also helped Harris with fundraising. Her campaign said it raised more than $2 million online from more than 60,000 people in the 24 hours after the second debate began. On Friday, the campaign confirmed she had raised nearly $12 million from 279,000 people in the second quarter.

J.D. Scholten, a former Democratic candidate for Iowa’s Fourth Congressional District, saw Harris at a church in Sioux City on Friday. He wasn’t surprised that people may be taking another look at Harris after the debate, despite her months-long campaign for president. She has often highlighted her stark contrasts with Trump.

“It’s one thing to say something, and it’s another thing to do something,” Scholten reasoned. “And I think people saw how she could perform on a national stage.”

Harris has also upped her language on the campaign trail, calling Trump "a predator" at several stops, including in West Des Moines, Des Moines and Indianola.

Celeste Sudduth-Triplett, who said she’s worked in criminal justice, is one of those people reconsidering Harris. Sudduth-Triplett hadn’t watched the debates, but she saw snippets replayed on television, which convinced her to come out.

“She got on my radar,” said the 48-year-old, who’s undecided. “The way she carried herself and articulated herself.”