Dan Balz: “Harris has often struggled to match the promise of her candidacy, but in her first opportunity arrayed as one of 10 candidates, she made the most of the opportunities she was given — and took some on her own to announce her arrival on the big stage.”

“Thursday’s debate may not change the polls much but it will probably reorder how Democrats begin to think about the choices before them.”

John Harris: “The case against Joe Biden’s presidential campaign got made Thursday night right out in the open — sound up, lights glaring — nothing blurred in a haze of euphemism, politesse, or indirection.”

Politico: The five long minutes when Harris owned Biden.

Associated Press: “Although Harris was initially reluctant, she is now consciously trying to incorporate more personal details in her campaign trail speeches and answers to voters. While Harris’ campaign disputes the notion of a revamped strategy, advisers concede that they need to spend more time helping voters understand not only what Harris would do as president but also what motivates her and what has shaped her. Their goal: to leave voters with the impression of a candidate who is both strong and warm.”

Washington Post: “In a crowded field in which Sanders’s Democratic socialism and Warren’s heavily regulated capitalism are elbowing for supremacy on the far left and Biden is positioning himself as a centrist best positioned to beat Trump, Harris is known more for her prosecutorial performance in Senate hearings than she is for advocating any particular approach to policy.”

“The result, so far, is a policy portfolio that often seems comprised of one-off announcements that put her largely in line with long-held, mainstream Democratic positions.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “is scaling up her focus on Iowa, promising to bring on at least 65 paid staffers by July and launch a summer organizing push targeted at the precinct level,” the Des Moines Register reports.

“Harris so far has lagged behind some campaigns, which have sought to aggressively add staff in the state. In April, her campaign tallied just five paid staffers here while others, such as Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, had brought on nearly 50.”

Los Angeles Times: “There is a prevalent sense that for all her seeming potential, California’s charismatic U.S. senator has fallen short of expectation. The disappointment, observers say, stems in part from Harris’ failure to present a compelling case for her candidacy beyond her background as a prosecutor, her buoyant personality and a deep contempt — shared by others in the contest — for Trump.”

“Backers say Harris’ slow-and-steady approach is the right one for this early stage of the campaign, arguing that consistency on the trail and fundraising matter more than catchy sound bites or viral moments.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) pushed back at the emerging narrative that she’s been too timid while campaigning for president, Politico reports.

Asked about strategist David Axelrod expressing these concerns, Harris paused for a few seconds before saying, “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) will not appear on Fox News for a moderated town hall, according to Yashar Ali.

“Harris joins Sen. Elizabeth Warren in declining to appear on the conservative top-rated network. As Senator, Harris has never appeared on the network for a sit down interview.”

Said a spokesperson for the Harris campaign: “They’ve reached out but we haven’t entertained it.”

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “structures her stump speech around two themes — truth and justice — meant to evoke her career as a barrier-breaking prosecutor and cultivate a reputation as a fearless public advocate,” the New York Times reports.

“But when Ms. Harris swept into Detroit to address an NAACP banquet on Sunday night, she added something new… she replaced her usual recitation of Democratic policies with an attack on President Trump, accusing him of enabling bigotry and divisiveness.”

“With that, Ms. Harris was nodding to a political truth: She is attempting to reset her campaign after stagnating in Democratic primary polls, using her strengths as a prosecutor — which were on display during a recent face-off with Attorney General William Barr — to mount a sharp indictment of Mr. Trump.”

“Kamala Harris’s presidential campaign is quietly building out its national footprint. The California Democrat has taken a more methodical approach than some rivals in amassing ground troops!” Politico reports.

“On Tuesday, Harris’ team will take another step, launching a national training program designed to harness volunteer energy on the ground that it could later tap into.”

“Kamala Harris has hired Jim Margolis, one of the Democratic Party’s most accomplished admakers, as her media adviser,” Politico reports.

“Margolis is a veteran of former President Barack Obama’s campaigns in 2008 and 2012, and served in a key role in Hillary Clinton’s White House bid in 2016.”

Newt Gingrich told CBS News that Sen. Kamala Harris is “most likely” to be nominated by Democrats to challenge President Trump in the 2020 presidential race.

Said Gingrich: “She’s very articulate and I think a likable person, and I think that she represents a new generation in a way that Biden and Sanders are going to work very hard to be able to match.”

But he said Pete Buttigieig may be the “most dangerous opponent” to Trump: “He’s from the Midwest, he’s a mayor of a small town, he has no particular public record, he can be like Jimmy Carter used to be, a Rorschach test of you paint on him what you want.”

George Skelton: “Clarity, courage and candor. That’s what voters want from political candidates. Not circular claptrap. That’s especially true of candidates running in a crowded field of 20 for the Democratic nomination to take on President Trump next year. Voters are looking for differences. Everyone’s pounding on Trump. That’s no distinction.”

“California Sen. Kamala Harris, who’s considered among the top tier of contenders, isn’t always performing up to speed. It’s not enough just to feed the voter base with red meat and focus group-certified talking points. Harris has long been afflicted with too much caution, as I’ve previously written.”