Warren to headline Dem fundraising dinner in New Hampshire in February

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will headline a major fundraising dinner for the New Hampshire Democratic Party in Manchester in February, a trip that will take her to a crucial early primary state in her bid for her party’s 2020 presidential nomination.

Warren, who announced her bid for the White House on New Year’s Eve, is set to deliver the keynote speech at the New Hampshire Democrats’ annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club Dinner on Feb. 22, the party announced on Wednesday.

{mosads}“We are pleased that Senator Elizabeth Warren will join our 60th annual McIntyre-Shaheen 100 Club event,” New Hampshire Democratic Party Chairman Ray Buckley said in a statement. “Senator Warren has long been an ardent supporter of New Hampshire Democrats.”

Warren became the first major candidate to enter the 2020 race for the Democratic nomination late last month when she announced that she had formed a committee to explore a presidential bid — a key step for any candidate with White House ambitions.

She followed that by traveling to Iowa over the weekend, making her first appearance of the year in an early voting state. It’s not clear if she will make a trip to New Hampshire before the Feb. 22 dinner.

A spokesperson for Warren did not immediately respond to The Hill’s request for comment.

New Hampshire is a crucial stop for presidential hopefuls because it is the first state to hold primaries in presidential election years. Two Warren aides went to work for the state Democratic Party last year, a move that fueled speculation that the senator was looking to expand her footprint in the Granite State.

The move comes as several other would-be Democratic hopefuls are expected to announce presidential bids in the coming weeks and months. The party is expected to see one of the most crowded primary fields in its history in 2020, with some three dozen Democrats said to be weighing campaigns.

— Updated at 12:56 p.m.