Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Bill Clinton on Thursday will make a campaign swing through Memphis on behalf of his wife and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The former president is set to speak Thursday night at Whitehaven High School at an event the Clinton campaign says is meant to highlight the beginning of early voting.

Early voting in Tennessee began Wednesday and continues until Feb. 23 ahead of the state's March 1 primary.

Early voting in March 1 primary ends today

Bill Clinton’s appearance comes as the Clinton campaign plans to set up new campaign offices in both Nashville and Memphis, the state’s two biggest Democratic hotbeds.

Hillary Clinton lost handily to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire Primary on Tuesday, but the Democratic primary process now shifts to Southern states where the former U.S. secretary of state is better positioned to win. That includes Tennessee, where a recent poll from Middle Tennessee State University found her ahead 47 percent to 15 percent over Sanders.

In November, Hillary Clinton made her only campaign stops in Tennessee so far, attending campaign rallies in Memphis and Nashville as well as a private fundraiser in Nashville.

In a statement on Bill Clinton's upcoming visit to Memphis, the Tennessee Republican Party went on the attack, arguing that it shows her candidacy is vulnerable in the South.

"This is further evidence that Hillary's 'southern firewall' is crumbling," Tennessee Republican Party Executive Director Brent Leatherwood said. "Not only is she having to spend valuable resources here, but now she's forced to dispatch her husband to Tennessee."

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.

Elections 2016