The Latest on Democratic presidential candidates on the campaign trail(all times local):
9:30 p.m.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is endorsing Sen. Kamala Harris for president in 2020.
The Democrat said in an MSNBC interview Friday: “I think the American people could not do better” than Harris. He added later in a tweet: “Kamala Harris is a fearless fighter. A voice for the voiceless and vulnerable.”
Harris’ campaign said in an email touting the endorsement that Newsom will join Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee and civil rights leader Dolores Huerta as California co-chairs for her campaign.
Among the other Democrats who have announced bids for president are Sens. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey.
Harris was campaigning in South Carolina on Friday, holding a town hall and visiting Mother Emmanuel church, where nine churchgoers were slain during a 2015 Bible session.
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8:45 p.m.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has told a crowd at a New Hampshire cafe that she will advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community and work on climate change issues.
The New York Democrat says it’s “an outrage” for President Donald Trump to tell transgender people what bathrooms they can use or whether they are qualified to serve in the military.
Gillibrand spoke Friday at Teatotaller, a cafe that refers to itself as an “oasis of queer, hipster, tea, coffee and pastry goodness.”
She says she would support the addition of a non-binary or a third gender classifications. She also says she will support the Green New Deal, a set of proposed programs that aim to address climate change.
Gillibrand will continue campaigning in New Hampshire on Saturday with stops in Exeter, Keene and Hanover.
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6:15 p.m.
California Sen. Kamala Harris has held her first South Carolina town hall since announcing her 2020 presidential bid. The crowd swelled, and some attendees climbed on top of folded bleachers for makeshift seating.
The scoreboard in the gymnasium in North Charleston was changed Friday to reflect the date of South Carolina’s Democratic primary: February 29, 2020.
Harris talked about a bill passed by the Senate this week that would explicitly make lynching a federal crime. Harris, one of three black members of the Senate, introduced the bill with New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott. Booker is also running for president.
Harris says lynchings are “a stain on America’s history.”
Another 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, is campaigning in New Hampshire on Friday.
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2:10 p.m.
Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California is in Charleston, South Carolina, making her second trip to the state since announcing her 2020 presidential campaign.
Ahead of a North Charleston town hall on Friday, Harris visited Rodney Scott’s Whole Hog BBQ for lunch, where she ordered whole hog, collard greens and cornbread.
Speaking to reporters after lunch, Harris said she will vote in favor of the Green New Deal, Democrats’ plan to combat climate change. Harris says that the underlying principles behind the plan are “sound and important” and that President Donald Trump is engaged in “science fiction instead of science fact.”
While in South Carolina, Harris said she earlier visited the church known as Mother Emmanuel, where nine black members were fatally shot during a 2015 Bible study session.
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12:50 p.m.
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is calling President Donald Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border “inappropriate” and says Trump manufactured a crisis to justify the move.
Gillibrand, a Democratic presidential candidate, said during a visit to New Hampshire that the only national emergency “is the humanitarian crisis that President Trump has created at our border from separating family from children and treating people who need our help inhumanely.”
Trump declared a national emergency on Friday that allows him to bypass Congress and use billions of dollars from other agencies to build the wall. Congress approved far less money than Trump had sought, and the move drew bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.
Gillibrand visited a coffee shop in downtown Concord before stopping to listen to a homeless man, Kevin Clark, play a song by Yusuf Islam (Cat Stevens), “Father and Son.” She praised his singing and gave him a hug before heading off to a consignment shop, where she bought a vase and a small plate.
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11:35 a.m.
Several Democratic presidential candidates are spending the long holiday weekend on the campaign trail.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Kamala Harris are visiting early voting states on Friday that will be critical to securing the Democratic nomination next year.
Gillibrand is in New Hampshire to participate in a walking tour of downtown Concord before visiting businesses in Dover and meeting members of the LGBT community in Somersworth. New Hampshire is home to the nation’s first presidential primary.
Harris is in South Carolina, where she’ll hold a town hall in North Charleston. The South Carolina primary is the nation’s first-in-the-South contest and is a crucial test of African-American support.
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