Hillary Clinton to Announce Presidential Run as Early as Sunday: Sources

Hillary Clinton could announce a 2016 presidential campaign as early as Sunday, NBC News has learned.

Two sources close to the Clinton campaign told NBC News that the former first lady and secretary of state is expected to announce the run on social media and will begin making campaign stops next week. One of those stops is expected to be in Iowa, which is the first state in the union to pick presidential candidates from each party.

The impending announcement comes after months of speculation in which Clinton regularly dropped hints about a possible run.

Last week, the former New York senator leased office space in Brooklyn for a campaign headquarters, which set off a 15-day countdown for her to announce a run under federal election rules. She also shut down her political action committee and hired several key staffers from President Barack Obama's 2008 and 2012 campaigns.

Clinton, who lives in Chappaqua, would be the first major Democrat to announce a run, though others, including Vice President Joe Biden, former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia, have expressed interest in running in 2016.

On the Republican side, Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky have announced they are running in 2016. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida could announce a run at a large event Monday, while former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee have expressed interest in running. 

Clinton’s campaign is expected to differ strategically from her failed bid in 2008, when the one-time favorite saw voters choose Obama, then a junior senator from Illinois, over her more established political capital.

This time around, people close to the New York politician's organization have said, Clinton will make her run for the White House more about voters and less about herself, regardless of her place atop a field of candidates that currently looks far weaker this time around. 

When Clinton ran successfully for the Senate in 2000, she kicked off her campaign with a listening tour across New York state.

Clinton's expected approach in 2016 also comes with risks, though. More loosely scripted appearances increase the chance she could be drawn off message or make a misstep. The former secretary of state has been off the campaign trail for years, spending some of that time in New York embracing her first grandchild, and she seemed rusty in fielding questions during interviews on a book tour in 2014.

She is also likely to face new questions this time around. Clinton came under scrutiny earlier this year for using a personal email address and server to conduct State Department business while head of the federal body from 2009 to 2013.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us