Presidential campaigns enter Rhode Island in full force

The Rhode Island primaries are almost here, and candidates are starting to turn their attention towards Rhode Island. Over the past few days, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, and Bernie Sanders have all opened campaign offices in the state in preparation for the primary on April 26th. Hillary Clinton’s newly opened campaign office in Providence at 77 Reservoir Avenue held a grand opening yesterday. About fifty Clinton supporters attended. Local politicians, Democratic Party leaders, union leaders, donors, and college students were among those gathered. They mingled with each other, distributed campaign materials, and prepared to canvas for Clinton ahead of the primaries. At the gathering, Governor Gina Raimondo said Clinton has had her vote for a long time. “You’ve got to put someone in the White House who can’t just talk the talk, but will actually deliver,” she said in a short speech. “There is only one person running for president who will actually be able to deliver and that is Hillary Clinton, so let’s work our butts off and put that woman in the White House.” Also present at the event was Nick Black, the director of Clinton’s campaign efforts in Rhode Island. Black said Clinton’s campaign is prepared for what lies ahead. “We’re prepared for it to be a close race. We’ve seen it be a close race across the country, but we’ve worked hard and won more votes and won more races so far. We’re going to bring those strategies and tactics over to Rhode Island and make sure we garner every vote.” A poll conducted in February by the Taubman Center for Public Policy at Brown University found that Hillary Clinton led the Democratic vote in Rhode Island by 9 percentage points, and Donald Trump led the Republican vote by 18 percentage points. Clinton and Trump are the current front-runners, but recent wins in Wisconsin have given momentum to the Sanders and Cruz campaigns. Bernie Sander’s campaign office at 500 Broad St. in Providence will have a grand opening on Saturday. Donald Trump’s campaign office at 1800 Post St. in Warwick will also celebrate its opening this Saturday from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.