August 04, 2019 08:45 AM UTC

Kamala Harris A Big Deal In Denver

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• by: Colorado Pols

Kicking off a wrapup of top-tier Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ stop in Denver Friday at Denver’s Manual High School, which was attended by thousands of enthusiastic Democrats–the Denver Post’s Nic Garcia:

Harris is a leading candidate for the Democratic Party’s presidential nomination — one of four who consistently polls in the double digits, with former Vice President Joe Biden, and U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.

Harris is the second top-tier candidate this year to visit Colorado. Warren hosted an April rally in Aurora. Other candidates who are polling much lower in the primary have visited or plan to visit Colorado. U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar, who has visited Colorado before, and Kirsten Gillibrand are hosting fundraisers this month in Colorado. The Associated Press reported Friday that Biden is expected to visit Colorado in September…

Several attendees listed Harris among the top candidates they’re considering but were still taking a wait-and-see approach.

CBS4’s Kelly Werthmann:

“I strongly believe you should judge a society based on how it treats its children. One of the greatest expressions of love that a society can extend is to invest in their education and, by extension, their teachers,” Harris told the crowd.

Harris also said, as president, she would give Congress 100 days to “pull their act together” on reasonable gun safety laws to stop school shootings.

“And if they don’t, I will take executive action,” she said as the crowd cheered. “Our children will not have to go to school to learn how they need to crouch in a corner or hide in a closet in the event there is a mass shooter roaming the halls. And Colorado knows that!”

Aurora Sentinel:

“I thought her speech was phenomenal,” said Rory Moore, making it clear that Harris is his top choice for the Democratic primary. “Her efforts reaching out to minorities, and being a woman of color herself, we need that change so badly. It’s just been typical white, heterosexual men in office. We’ve got to change that.”

After the second Democratic debates earlier in the week on CNN, Harris is polling at 10 percent, according to Democratic Party officials. At this point, she will continue on in televised debates. She’s set her candidacy apart from the others for her pointed criticism of frontrunner former Vice President Joe Biden. She’s fiercely criticized Biden for his past stance on school integration as well as what she says has been poor support of women’s issues.

Last week’s debates marked the beginning of the process of winnowing down from the current unsustainable pack of 20 Democratic presidential contenders to to a group small enough to fit–and argue–on a single stage. Two leading women contenders, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Harris, have performed very well in addition to holding off blistering attacks from lower-tier candidates. It’s still early, but both Harris and Warren have held big rallies in Colorado already and clearly regard the state as a major Super Tuesday objective.

So get excited Colorado, because in this Democratic primary you’ll be very far from “flyover country.”