Brianne Pfannenstiel | The Des Moines Register

Kelsey Kremer, kkremer@dmreg.com

California senator and 2020 presidential candidate Kamala Harris has tapped Deidre DeJear to be her campaign chair in Iowa and Will Dubbs as her Iowa state director.

The hires were confirmed by Harris's communications director, Lily Adams. They come the day after Harris formally launched her campaign in front of an estimated 20,000 people in her hometown of Oakland and the same day Harris is set to speak before Iowa Democrats at town hall event hosted by CNN in Des Moines.

Kelsey Kremer/The Register

"I believe in her vision for a country that has an economy that works for working people, and she has shown she is the best candidate to lead our country towards a stronger future," DeJear said of Harris in a statement. "On a personal note, I believe in the idea of iron sharpening iron, women helping women, by supporting their journey. Kamala Harris has been one of those women for me."

Dubbs, an alumnus of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, served as the campaign's regional organizing director for western Iowa and went on to serve as the organizing director for Clinton's efforts in Nebraska and New York. During that year's general election, Dubbs served as the organizing director for the North Carolina Democratic Party. In 2018, he was the Pennsylvania Democratic Party's coordinated campaign director.

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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 Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, former vice president Joe Biden, former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth 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.