Hillary Clinton will officially kick off her presidential campaign with a major speech in New York City on June 13, the first campaign event to be open to the general public since the former secretary of state announced her candidacy in a video in April.
Clinton will outline her campaign objectives in the address, according to a campaign official. The event is scheduled to be held at Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Park on Roosevelt Island – a small island just off Manhattan that regularly hosts festivals. The event will be open to the general public, marking the first time Clinton’s fans will be free to attend one of her campaign events. So far, Clinton’s appearances have been largely closed off to the public and media alike.
A campaign official said Clinton chose New York as the site of her official kick off because it’s where voters first elected her to the Senate; after that, Clinton will head to Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada in a six-day sprint across the early voting states. “This early state schedule reflects Clinton’s plan to work for and earn every vote,” the campaign official said.
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These events are expected to be larger than the small, choreographed round-table events Clinton has stuck with since her April campaign launch, and they are expected to include more detailed policy proposals.
Following the New York City rally, Clinton will address campaign volunteers and supporters in a presentation that will be broadcast to similar organizing meetings in hundreds of counties across the country.
Clinton, the far-and-away front-runner among Democratic presidential candidates, faces two challengers from within her party — progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley. Neither is polling anywhere close to Clinton, but aides have told reporters the former secretary of state isn’t taking any vote for granted.
Jane Timm