Washington – Multiple media outlets both here and throughout the world are reporting that on noon ET Sunday April 12th Hillary Clinton will announce her candidacy for the Democratic Nomination for president. It will come via Twitter and be followed by a online video. She will then hit the road with campaign stops planned for next week, including visit to first-in-the-nation caucus state Iowa.
The former first lady, senator and secretary of state, Clinton, now enters the race as the undisputed frontrunner for her party’s nod. Only a handful of other Democrats have expressed interest in pursuing a White House bid, including former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. But none have Clinton’s broad name recognition, massive fundraising apparatus and sky-high approval ratings within the party.
She’s also led most of her GOP foes in national and state-level polling for much of the past year, though those numbers may be taking a bit of a hit — a new Quinnipiac University poll Thursday showed her slipping in the swing states of Iowa, Colorado and Virginia in the wake of stories about the private email server she used as secretary of state.
Democrats are hopeful the official announcement will let her get out there and help right the ship. The decision will sweep aside more than a year of speculation about her political aspirations and allow her to start making her case to voters. Advisers say she knows that Democratic activists are not interested in a coronation and she intends to campaign as though she has a tough primary challenge.
Clinton is expected to trade big rallies for a series of smaller events with voters, as she seeks to reintroduce herself to voters. Her supporters have urged Clinton to take the time to meet voters one-on-one and build their trust.
She has been ramping up her presidential preparations including leasing office space for a headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, and hiring key staffers.