MONTPELIER, Vt.—Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton is gearing up her campaign in Vermont in anticipation of the state's March 4 primary.
Former Gov. Madeleine Kunin and House Speaker Gaye Symington are the co-chairs of Clinton's Vermont effort, the Clinton campaign announced on Tuesday.
The campaign is planning a news conference for Wednesday to announce the launch of the Vermont Clinton effort, officials said.
"I think Vermonters, we live very close to her home state and many of us have seen how effective she has been in supporting economic development in New York, particularly in agriculture," Symington said Tuesday. "And just seeing her leadership and the extent to which she's just proven herself, she has the experience to live up to the promise of delivering real change."
Kunin said she didn't know if Vermont would be visited by the New York senator seeking the Democratic presidential nomination or her husband the former President Clinton.
"We do think there's a possibility of Chelsea coming," Kunin said, referring to the Clinton's daughter who has begun recently to take an active role in her mother's presidential campaign.
Clinton and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama are locked in a tight race for the Democratic nomination to run for president in November. For the first time in recent memory Vermont's Town Meeting Day presidential primary, which will award 15 Democratic delegates, is important to the national results. Vermont has a total of 23 delegates.
Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island are also voting March 4.
Last week Obama's campaign sent seven staff workers to Vermont and will open storefront offices in four locations.
A number of top Vermont Democrats, including U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, are backing the presidential candidacy of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama.
"It is on the face on it an Obama state, but we're discovering a lot of fervent Hillary supporters," Kunin said. "Bill was always very popular in Vermont, but I think Hillary can stand on her own ground here."
