COLORADO SPRINGS — Colorado Springs’ first visit by a 2020 presidential candidate was made Wednesday by Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who’s also the first female combat veteran.

Gabbard, a Democrat from Hawaii, earned the rank of major. She’s still enlisted in the National Guard and has two tours to the middle east under her belt.

While Gabbard was in Colorado Springs, other high-profile candidates were in Las Vegas on the debate stage ahead of the Nevada Primary. Gabbard has criticized the debate rules from the Democratic National Committee for allowing newcomer billionaire Michael Bloomberg onto the stage.

“Voters are the ones that get to make that decision, not the DNC and not their corporate media partners. When you look at the decision, the DNC and their corporate media partners, those are unfortunately doing a disservice to voters by trying to hold their own pre-primary selection process and say, ‘these are who we believe voters should choose from.'” Gabbard said, “Which includes a billionaire, but does not include the first female combat veteran who is running for president.”

Gabbard said she enlisted after the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. She sais, twenty years later, the threat remains.

“Al-Qaeda is still a threat to the United States today and the American people. Al-Qaeda is stronger today than they were when they attacked us on 9/11. Part of the reason that is the case is because our military has not been focused on that mission to defeat Al-Qaeda and ISIS and their other affiliated terrorist organizations and instead have been sent to fight these regime-change wars.”

Gabbard said the United States has been caught in a cycle of being the world’s police.

She says she prioritizes care for veterans and service members, saying money spent sending those Americans to war takes away from what we should be spending on them here at home.

“We need to stop dishonoring service and sacrifice by sending them to wars that don’t make us any safer and end up undermining our national security,” she said.

Gabbard said she expects a few hundred people at her town hall Wednesday night. She plans to take questions and discuss issues on the minds of voters during the event.

Gabbard said she also wants to address the “New Cold War” she sees developing between the U.S, Russia, and China.

She said she would call for a summit between those nation’s leaders, and aim to end the escalating nuclear and cyber arms race.