Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) made her first endorsement in Iowa on Friday — the first state to vote in the 2020 presidential primary, where Harris is considered a frontrunner for the Democratic Party nomination.

Harris, who did not travel to Iowa for the endorsement, backed Deidre DeJear for the office of Secretary of State.

DeJear thanked her on Twitter:

Thank you @KamalaHarris for your leadership & support! I look forward to working alongside you to ensure every family in IA has the freedom and opportunity to thrive. The vote is the key to our democracy & the Sec. of State holds those keys. It’s time for Pate to hand them over. pic.twitter.com/TEFj6xPSZl — Deidre DeJear (@DeidreDeJear) August 17, 2018

Politico adds:

Like many top Democrats, Harris has maintained a cautious distance from Iowa, leery of appearing solicitous of attention beyond the midterm elections. She is not expected to appear in Iowa for the endorsement announcement. But her endorsement of DeJear was not unexpected. Harris’ out-of-California endorsements this year have focused on non-white candidates, including Stacey Abrams in Georgia and Jahana Hayes in Connecticut. DeJear is Iowa’s first black nominee for statewide office from a major political party, and Harris has been supportive since the two met at an event in Los Angeles in April.

DeJear worked on President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign in Iowa, Politico notes.

Harris, still in her first term in Congress, is proving adept at both media and fundraising, tapping into Democratic Party establishment donor networks while articulating the left-wing “progressive” messages the party’s base wants to hear.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. He is also the co-author of How Trump Won: The Inside Story of a Revolution, which is available from Regnery. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.