Hillary Expected to Launch Presidential Campaign This Weekend

Multiple outlets are reporting that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce her intention to gun for the Oval Office this weekend.

The New York Daily News cited an unnamed source “close to the campaign”:

The former secretary of state is likely to announce via video and social media as she kicks off her long-expected second shot at the White House.

She’s expected to begin her campaign with a series of smaller events in early-voting states including Iowa and New Hampshire, though it remains to be seen how low key the high-profile candidate will be able to keep her trip.

Business Insider cited its own source, someone “with knowledge of Hillary Clinton’s plans,” confirming that she’ll announce this weekend.

Reuters reported “a variety of sources in the Clinton orbit said they were anticipating an imminent announcement but would not confirm a report in the New York Daily News that the announcement was expected on Sunday”:

Clinton is likely to make her intentions known through a social media announcement followed by campaign travel. This focus on digital communications is an attempt to connect with young voters, who Clinton needs to become American’s first woman president.

In her previous presidential run in 2008, Clinton lost to the current president, Barack Obama, in part because of the Obama campaign’s clever use of social media to draw attention to his candidacy and raise huge sums through small donations.

Her campaign is expected to concentrate on making the 67-year-old former first lady relatable to ordinary Americans. Clinton spent four years jetting to foreign capitals as Obama’s first-term secretary of state but has had limited day-to-day contact with everyday Americans.

The weekend announcement would put Clinton just before Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) Monday announcement.

Unlike the morning announcements of Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), Rubio’s announcement at the Freedom Tower in Miami will hit TV screens in the early evening.

Rubio’s campaign said that demand for events tickets exceeded the capacity of the venue, so an overflow viewing area will be set up on the southeast corner of NE 6th Street and Biscayne Boulevard.