Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders

Democratic presidential candidates, Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt, shake hands before the start of a Democratic presidential debate at Miami-Dade College, Wednesday, March 9, 2016, in Miami, Fla. Sanders plans to run an aggressive campaign in New York before the state's April 19 presidential primary. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee)

(Wilfredo Lee)

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders plans to make an all-out blitz of New York ahead of the state's April 19 primary, aggressively campaigning like a candidate for governor, according to his campaign.

Sanders has made a strategic decision to battle rival Hillary Clinton on her home turf, where the two-term New York senator enjoys a comfortable lead in the polls.

"We'll be the underdog, but being the underdog in New York is not the worst situation in politics," Tad Devine, the chief strategist for Sanders, told the Washington Post on Sunday. "We're going to make a real run for it."

Sanders has already opened a Syracuse campaign office, his first in the state, and plans to spend a lot of time campaigning in the Empire State - which is the next large state on the primary calendar.

On Sunday, Sanders challenged Clinton to debate in New York before the primary.

"I would hope very much that as we go into New York state, Secretary Clinton's home state, that we will have a debate - New York City or Upstate, wherever - on the important issues facing New York and, in fact, the country," Sanders said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

The Vermont senator is trying to build on his momentum after sweeping three Western states on Saturday with caucus wins over Clinton in Alaska, Hawaii and Washington state.

The Sanders campaign has said that it sees the New York contest as potentially pivotal, given the state's 291 delegates to the Democratic National Convention - the second largest state prize only to California.

New York's delegates will be awarded proportionally in each of the state's 27 congressional districts, allowing Sanders to pick up a significant block even in defeat.

Advisers to Sanders told the Washington Post that the campaign has commissioned polls to decide which issues could resonate with Democratic voters in New York in contrast to Clinton.

Voter registration has surged in New York ahead of the April 19 primary, with more than 40,000 new applications over a 10-day period this month. State officials have not yet provided a party breakdown of the new voters who registered.

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