Kamala Harris: ‘I am not a democratic socialist’

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.), a 2020 presidential hopeful, told reporters at a campaign stop in New Hampshire on Monday that she is “not a democratic socialist.”

“The people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist,” Harris said when asked if she needed to be a democratic socialist to win in that state.

{mosads}“I believe that what voters do want is they want to know that whoever is going to lead understands that in America today, not everyone has an equal opportunity and access to a path to success, ” she added, saying U.S. needs to “course correct” for income inequality.

2020 Watch: @KamalaHarris -in NH-asked about having to move to the left to compete with @BernieSanders – tells @pdoocy “I am not a Democratic socialist” #nhpolitics #FITN #2020election pic.twitter.com/hrMAAxCyp3

— Paul Steinhauser (@steinhauserNH1) February 18, 2019

Harris announced her presidential bid last month. She faces a crowded Democratic field that includes Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.).

New Hampshire is one of the first states to hold a primary contest for 2020.

Harris has been viewed by some as an early front-runner and has garnered endorsements from Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), and labor organizer and civil rights activist Dolores Huerta.

Democratic socialists argue that the economy and society should be democratically run “to meet public needs,” according to the Democratic Socialists of America website. Both Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) have described themselves as democratic socialists. Sanders won New Hampshire’s 2016 Democratic presidential primary with about 60 percent of the vote.