Democrats seeking nomination court voters in key early states

Five Democratic senators vying for their party’s nomination to challenge President Trump in 2020 fanned out across the country Saturday to campaign and meet voters.

Kamala Harris of California spent her second straight day in the pivotal early-voting state of South Carolina, holding a town hall meeting in Columbia, the capital. Also visiting the state was Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who met with an estimated 800 voters in Greenville before heading to Georgia — an unusual early stop but one that signals Democratic hopes to make inroads in the South.

Cory Booker of New Jersey and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York both focused on New Hampshire. Booker made his first visit there since joining the race this month, holding a question-and-answer session with more than 400 voters in Portsmouth.

Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, meanwhile, made her own uncommon choice for early campaigning by visiting Wisconsin before heading to Iowa, home to the nation’s first caucus.

And a Democratic heavyweight who’s yet to address his 2020 plans, former Vice President Joe Biden, made his own high-profile appearance at the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

The Democratic senators stepped up their campaigning during the long holiday weekend at the start of Congress’ first recess this year. Their outreach to voters came in the wake of Trump’s controversial decision to declare a national emergency to unilaterally redirect federal money for his promised wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Booker plans to spend three days in New Hampshire, which casts the first votes in the 2020 primary, and he kicked off the swing with a freewheeling “conversation” that drew questions on health care, the environment and foreign relations.

Booker is one of several Democratic presidential contenders who back legislation that would transition the United States to universal health insurance coverage, but he acknowledged Saturday that compromise may be necessary to get major health care legislation through the Senate.

Harris visited a handful of female-owned businesses in Columbia on the second day of a swing through South Carolina. Her visit was organized by Jennifer Clyburn Reed, whose father is Jim Clyburn, a South Carolina congressman and the third-ranking Democratic leader in the U.S. House.

Biden isn’t officially part of the 2020 presidential race, but he bolstered his case for a potential candidacy by speaking to an international audience about the need to restore America’s ability to claim leadership in the world.

Without saying Trump’s name, Biden said in a speech at the conference that current policies do not reflect the country.

“The America I see values basic human decency, not snatching children from their parents or turning our backs on refugees at our border,” he said.

Elana Schor is an Associated Press writer.

Charles Krupa / Associated Press Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., addresses a gathering in Portsmouth, N.H., during his first campaign visit to the state.