Sen. Kamala Harris defends record as prosecutor but skips some details

WEST COLUMBIA, S.C. — Before a largely African American audience, Sen. Kamala D. Harris on Saturday defended her legacy as a prosecutor, a major element of the California Democrat’s rise to the U.S. Senate but one that has complicated her presidential candidacy.

Harris said she tried to combat injustice and racial bias. But she dodged some of the more controversial parts of her record. She cited her pioneering reentry initiative for convicts, talked about mothers of gun-violence victims arriving at her office asking only for “Kamala,” and briefly spoke about her controversial policy to address truancy.