Harris: Unpopular positions part of being attorney general

DES MOINES, Iowa — Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris says positions she took as California's attorney general that are unpopular with some Democrats reflect her duty as the state's top law enforcement officer.

Harris defended her record Monday night during a CNN town hall-style event at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa.

Harris says she enforced the death penalty in California despite opposing the practice. Likewise, she says she chose not to take a public position in 2015 on legislation to require her office to investigate all police-related fatal shootings because her office would write the law and enforce it.

Harris was California's attorney general from 2011 to 2017, the year she took office as a U.S. senator.

The event marks her first public appearance in Iowa since announcing her candidacy last week.