Des Moines Register: Harris makes ‘good case’ for her presidency

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is making a “good case for her presidency,” the Des Moines Register editorial board wrote after a recent sit down interview with the 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. 

“She is smart. She is compassionate. She understands complex issues. And she makes no apologies for being a bulldog who earned a reputation for being tough on wrongdoers, including gang members and drug traffickers,” the paper wrote in an editorial published Tuesday. 

Harris’s background as a prosecutor makes her the “last person you’d want to face off against in a courtroom,” but her demeanor places her “among the first you’d want to invite to a family dinner,” the paper also wrote. {mosads}

They also noted that her campaign is driven by “middle-of-the-night thoughts that wake up Americans.” 

Harris launched her first TV ad last week emphasizing her “3AM Agenda,” which covers issues that keep people up at night — including health care, gun violence and student debt. 

“I believe Americans want a problem-solving president,” she told the paper. 

The interview was part of the paper’s “get-to-know-you” sessions with candidates. There have been 10 so far. 

“Harris certainly has the backbone and smarts to be that president,” the paper writes. 

Harris attended the Iowa State Fair along with most of her 2020 primary opponents. 

She has also embarked on a five-day bus tour across the state.

Harris is polling in the top four in the crowded primary field. A RealClearPolitics average of polls has her at 8.3 percent, behind former Vice President Joe Biden, Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in the Democratic primary race.