Sen. Kamala Harris to campaign in Las Vegas Valley on Friday

Las Vegas Review-Journal

6 years ago

Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, waves to the crowd as she formally launches her presidential campaign at a rally in her hometown of Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. (Tony Avel ... — Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris, of California, waves to the crowd as she formally launches her presidential campaign at a rally in her hometown of Oakland, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019. (Tony Avelar/AP)

Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro speaks during a house party at the Ed and Jane Cranston home, Monday, Jan. 7, 2019, in North Liberty, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall)

Former San Antonio Mayor and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro, front left, waves as he arrives with his family to an event where he announced his decision to seek the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Saturday, Jan. 12, 2019, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris will appear at two local events on Friday, just one day after another contender made a stop in North Las Vegas.

The U.S. senator’s campaign stop comes on the heels of a visit by Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro, who spoke Thursday in North Las Vegas.

Harris, D-Calif., is scheduled to speak at the annual Women of Power Summit at The Mirage starting at 10 a.m. Star Jones, former co-host of “The View,” will interview Harris about her decision to enter the race.

A campaign event for Harris is scheduled at Canyon Springs High School in North Las Vegas starting at 4 p.m. The first-term senator will host a 90-minute-long town hall meeting in the school’s gymnasium, taking questions from attendees.

People can RSVP online. Doors will open at 3:30 p.m.

Harris, a 54-year-old African American, announced she was running in the 2020 election on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The Oakland, California, native is a former California attorney general.

Castro speaks in North Las Vegas

During his visit, Castro said the Obama administration missed an early opportunity to pass immigration reform and that he’d push the issue within months of taking office if elected in 2020.

The former Obama administration Housing and Urban Development secretary made the comments as he met with immigrants and immigrant advocates in a Latino neighborhood.

Castro wouldn’t say whether his former boss made a mistake by focusing on passing the Affordable Care Act health care law in 2009 and 2010 instead of immigration. But he said that an opportunity was missed to pass the DREAM Act, which would have protected some young immigrants living in the country illegally from deportation.

The 44-year-old former San Antonio mayor is the only Latino candidate in the 2020 race.

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter. The Associated Press contributed to this story.