White House hopeful Sen. Kamala HarrisKamala Devi HarrisRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook McEnany says Juneteenth is a very ‘meaningful’ day to Trump MORE (D-Calif.) sent out a fundraising email for the South Carolina Democratic Party on Tuesday as she tries to gin up establishment support in a crucial primary state.

Harris, who spoke before the party last month, wrote in the email that while 2020’s main attraction will be the presidential race, local elections still hold weight, citing Republican-led efforts in the Palmetto State such as restricting abortion and maintaining loose gun control laws.

“We’re all focused on getting a new president, and (trust me) I know it’s important, but if we don’t empower and support our local parties, many solutions will remain out of reach for South Carolina’s working families,” Harris wrote. “The South Carolina Democratic Party needs your help to elect candidates that reflect our values.”

Last month, @KamalaHarris spoke to the South Carolina Democratic Party convention and stressed the importance of local parties and electing Dems up and down the ticket.

Today, she becomes the first presidential candidate to send a fundraising email for the SCDP. pic.twitter.com/ZPjzeuRo5e

— Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas) July 23, 2019

Jerusalem Demsas, the Harris campaign’s South Carolina communications director, tweeted out the email along with a link to donate directly to the party. 

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The email and the campaign’s efforts to amplify it underline the centrality of South Carolina to Harris’s path to the Democratic presidential nomination. Harris, one of three African American candidates in the primary race, is hoping to post a strong showing in an early state where black voters make up roughly 60 percent of the primary electorate. 

She is locked in a battle with Sen. Cory BookerCory Anthony BookerRand Paul introduces bill to end no-knock warrants Black lawmakers unveil bill to remove Confederate statues from Capitol Harris grapples with defund the police movement amid veep talk MORE (D-N.J.), the other major black candidate in the race, to boost support among African American voters, though she has consistently lagged behind former Vice President Joe BidenJoe BidenHillicon Valley: Biden calls on Facebook to change political speech rules | Dems demand hearings after Georgia election chaos | Microsoft stops selling facial recognition tech to police Trump finalizing executive order calling on police to use ‘force with compassion’ The Hill’s Campaign Report: Biden campaign goes on offensive against Facebook MORE among the demographic. 

However, the California Democrat has expressed confidence that as she campaigns, she could take a bite out of the support for Biden, who has worked to capitalize on his connection to former President Obama. 

“I’m still meeting a lot of people. Vice President Biden has obviously, I think, run for president three times, he was vice president for two terms under a very popular president, President Obama. So he’s well known, and I am still in the process of introducing my work and my plan to voters across the country, and I intend to work very hard to earn the vote and the support of everyone,” she said after last month’s primary debate.

Presidential candidates this cycle have been known to use their email lists to raise funds for advocacy groups and Senate and House candidates, including Planned Parenthood and Amy McGrath, who is challenging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnellAddison (Mitch) Mitchell McConnellSenate advances public lands bill in late-night vote GOP senator to try to reverse requirement that Pentagon remove Confederate names from bases No, ‘blue states’ do not bail out ‘red states’ MORE (R-Ky.).