Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2020 campaign is ramping up its presence in Arizona ahead of the state's March 17 Democratic presidential primary, even as Vice President Joe Biden increases his delegate lead in the race.

On Tuesday, the Sanders campaign announced it is opening five new offices across Arizona. The new offices were set to kick off operations Wednesday with open-to-the-public events starting at 6 p.m.

"We feel really good about (Arizona's) presidential preference election," said Sarah Michelson, Sanders' Arizona state director. "Our program in Arizona is really strong and we're excited about tonight's office openings."

Both Sanders and Biden have cut back on campaign events in recent days because of the spread of the new coronavirus.

Michelson said the Sanders' campaign is following each state's public health guidelines and has not heard anything from Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey about restricting campaign activity.

New Office and Event Locations

Here are details about the new Sanders campaign offices:

Downtown Phoenix

1027 E. Washington St., Phoenix.

West Phoenix

3308 N. 27th Ave, Phoenix.

Tempe

939 E. Broadway Road, Tempe.

Tucson

1814 E. 6th St., Tucson.

Flagstaff

1600 W. University Ave., Suite 109, Flagstaff.

Where Sanders stands in the race

Sanders is looking to energize his base after tough losses on Super Tuesday and earlier this week.

Sanders said Wednesday he would continue his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination and would participate in the Democratic debate Sunday in Phoenix. Sanders also touted his popularity with young voters and said he was winning the "generational debate."

Biden leads Sanders in delegates at 800 to 600, with over half the delegates still up for grabs.

State Sen. Martín Quezada, D-Phoenix, told The Arizona Republic that Sanders' continued presence in the race will have an impact regardless of whether Sanders wins the nomination.

"The fact that he is still in the race will impact the eventual winner," Quezada said. "If that is Biden, he will continue to make his platform more progressive in order to speak to voters that Sanders appeals to, and that will help Biden win, which is important in the general election."

Sanders' history in Arizona

Arizona, Florida, Illinois and Ohio will hold primaries on Tuesday. In the 2016 primary season, Sanders lost those four states to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Sanders lost Arizona to Clinton by almost 15 percentage points in an election marked by controversy. Activists and lawmakers made voter suppression claims after voters faced long lines, primarily in minority and Latino neighborhoods. Prior to that election, Maricopa County had reduced the number of polling places from 200 to 60 despite an increase in voter registration.

Sanders had called what happened "a disgrace" and said that "people in the United States of America shouldn't have to wait five hours in order to vote."

Michelson told The Republic the Sanders' campaign has been in close contact with Maricopa County officials about Tuesday's election.

"(Maricopa County Recorder) Adrian Fontes has done a good job putting together a solid plan to account for any increased turn out," she said. "He ran for office on improving from the long lines during the 2016 disaster."