Surging presidential hopeful Sen. Kamala Harris will come to Salt Lake City later this month for two events, including a campaign fundraising dinner.
The California Democrat, who served as a prosecutor before being elected to the Senate, has catapulted to national prominence over the past few months as a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination. She enjoyed a big bounce in national polls after a strong performance in her first Democratic debate last week, where she challenged former Vice President Joe Biden over his record on race and segregation.
Several polls show her leaping into second place, cutting into the lead of Biden, the front-runner.
The July 17 Utah swing will include a noncampaign luncheon and a campaign fundraising dinner, both at The Wave, a Salt Lake City coworking space and social club for women and marginalized genders.
Joanna Smith, founder and CEO of The Wave, said the organization has had Harris’ trip to the Beehive State in the works for almost two months.
“She killed it [in the debate],” said Smith. “We were pretty excited.”
The Wave, which opened in April, hosts regular events with female leaders of different industries. They recently brought journalist Gemma Hartley to town and will host Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in August.
Harris will arrive in Utah on July 17 and kick off the day with a “Taking Up Space” luncheon at The Wave, according to Smith. The event is not related to or coordinated with the campaign. The senator will sit on a panel with Sundance’s Betsy Wallace, Adobe’s Laura Desmond and Salt Lake County Sheriff Rosie Rivera.
The luncheon costs $35 for members of The Wave and $85 for the general public. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Planned Parenthood of Utah. That evening Harris will host a fundraiser dinner for her campaign at The Wave, where she will give a keynote address to attendees. Tickets for the dinner cost $200.
Harris will be the fourth Democratic hopeful to visit Republican Utah this year. The first was John Delaney, former Maryland congressman, then Julian Castro, former Housing and Urban Development secretary and mayor of San Antonio, followed by Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, in April.
Castro plans a second visit to Utah this Saturday in West Wendover, just inside the Utah line from Nevada.
Utah is one of the most Republican states in the nation. It has not voted for a Democrat for president since Lyndon Johnson in 1964. Utah Democrats, though, were heartened by the underwhelming performance of Donald Trump in 2016. He carried the state with less than 50% of the vote.