Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign will host “Camp Kamala” training events at Iowa college campuses this week aimed at plugging students and young people into Harris’ Iowa caucus organizing efforts before they leave school for the summer.
Youth activists will learn about the Iowa caucus process and the California Democrat’s caucus strategy. The campaign hopes to prepare students to engage their peers and communities in support of the Harris campaign through the summer and fall.
“Students and young people in Iowa are going to play a critical organizing role in the caucuses,” Harris said in a statement.
Young people often make up a large part of presidential campaign organizing efforts by filling internships and reaching out to others on college campuses. Connecting with students now allows Harris to get a head start on youth mobilization, while campaigns that don’t reach out to students by the end of May will likely have to wait until about August, after the summer break, to organize them for the Feb. 3 caucuses.
“Our campaign is working to organize young Iowans who are the future of the country,” Will Dubbs, Harris' Iowa state director, said in a statement. “I am proud that we will be able to utilize the excitement around Kamala’s campaign heading into the critical summer months.”
Camp Kamala events will take place April 16 through April 18 at the University of Iowa, Drake University, Iowa State University, Des Moines Area Community College, and the University of Northern Iowa.
In a video encouraging students to sign up for Camp Kamala events, Harris mentioned student loan debt and climate change as important issues.
“The issues are obviously very important and there’s so much at stake,” Harris said in the video. “Everything from what I am going to do to end the student loan debt crisis, what we need to do around addressing climate change which is the most existential threat to us as human beings.”
A Monmouth University poll released last week of Democrats likely to attend the Iowa caucus showed Harris, with 7% support, tied in fourth place with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass. Former Vice President Joe Biden led the field with 27% support, followed by Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders with 16% and South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg with 9%.