Mediaboss Marketing

By Anne Gearan and Philip Rucker April 10 at 7:42 PM

Hillary Rodham Clintons long-anticipated entry into the 2016 presidential race took shape Friday, with Democrats saying she will announce her candidacy on Sunday and begin a series of deliberately small discussions with voters next week.

The low-key rollout no big rallies or lengthy speeches will end months of speculation surrounding the overwhelming favorite for the Democratic nomination. Clinton intends to begin her second White House bid via social media, probably Twitter, and include a video that introduces her economic-centered campaign message before jetting to Iowa next week for public appearances, according to three Democrats with knowledge of her plans.

Behind the scenes, meanwhile, Clintons fundraising machine is coming to life. Her top bundlers are plotting aggressive outreach to thousands of Democratic donors over the weekend and into next week to urge them to send checks and make donations online as soon as the Clinton campaigns Web site goes live.

The strategists and allies spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss details of the forthcoming announcement. Spokesmen for Clintons now-robust campaign-in-waiting declined to comment Friday.

[A new campaign slogan for Hillary Rodham Clinton: Think small]

Former U.S. senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton is expected to announce that shes running for president in 2016. Here's the Democrats take on womens rights, Benghazi and more, in her own words. (Julie Percha/The Washington Post)

Clintons go-slow, go-small start is the opposite of how many Republicans have entered or plan to enter the race. Instead of a splashy launch event, Clintons plan is a calculated understatement. She is scheduling a series of small roundtables and other give-and-take sessions with voters, first in Iowa and later in New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada the states holding the first presidential primaries and caucuses early next year.

The idea is to showcase Clintons abilities as a problem-solver and crusader for the rights of those struggling to climb into or stay in the middle class. The intimate events with voters are also designed to help the former secretary of state connect with ordinary Americans and listen to their concerns, supporters said.

Jay Jacobs, a former New York Democratic Party chairman and longtime Clinton friend, said he thinks the events will present Clinton as she is known by people who are close to her: as a very warm, genuine, thoughtful, certainly intelligent, regular person.

Read more:
Hillary Clinton begins her entry into the 2016 presidential race