Presidential Candidate Elizabeth Warren holds town hall in San Diego

SAN DIEGO (KUSI) – More than 8,000 people attended a town hall held by Democratic front-runner Sen. Elizabeth Warren in San Diego Thursday. The stop was part of her campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

This was Warren’s first visit to San Diego County since formally launching her campaign in February. After being dogged by a controversy over her heritage early in her campaign, Warren has steadily climbed in the race and has separated herself from the rest of the field along with former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Her visit comes shortly after a Los Angeles Times and UC Berkeley poll from Sept. 13-18 found that 29% of likely voters in California support her, with Biden in second at 20% and Sanders in third at 19%. Several polls have also found Warren leading in Iowa and New Hampshire, the first two states to vote in the primary.

Other polls have found Warren and Sanders within a few points of Biden in California while other prominent candidates like Sen. Kamala Harris have fallen to single digits. Warren, Biden, Sanders and Harris are part of a candidate field of roughly 20 Democrats that also includes South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg, technology entrepreneur Andrew Yang and former El Paso, Texas, Rep. Beto O’Rourke.

Warren’s town hall was held at Waterfront Park in downtown San Diego.