Joey Garrison

USA Today Network - Tennessee

Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president plans to open offices in Nashville and Memphis later this week as early voting begins in Tennessee’s Democratic primary.

The move will make Clinton the first between herself and Democratic rival Bernie Sanders to open campaign offices in Tennessee. And the Clinton campaign says it will mark the beginning of more activity to come from them in Tennessee.

Clinton’s Nashville office will be near Marathon Village in North Nashville in a building that happens to be on Clinton Street. An exact opening date is not clear.

Early voting in Tennessee for both the Democratic and Republican primaries begins on Wednesday ahead of the March 1 primary.

Clinton’s Tennessee press secretary Holly McCall, recently added by the campaign, said that the Clinton team has also hired a state field coordinator, as well as a field organizer in Memphis, to focus on outreach efforts.

“Clinton’s organization values Tennessee highly and has put a lot of resources into the state,” she said. “Voters are going to see a pretty high level of activity the next few weeks as we open offices in Nashville and Memphis, continue weekly phone banks and amplify her message through surrogates and speakers.”

It is unclear whether Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of state, plans to swing through Tennessee again ahead of the primary. She made stops in both Memphis and Nashville in November for a pair of campaign rallies, as well as a fundraiser at the home of former Nashville mayoral candidate Bill Freeman.

Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont, has not campaigned in Tennessee, and a "Feel the Bern" rally that was scheduled for Tennessee State University on Friday night was canceled, according to a post on the Tennessee for Bernie Sanders Facebook page. Clinton’s campaign has scheduled an event at the historically black university for Saturday.

In contrast to the Democratic race, the Republican primary in Tennessee has gotten considerably more attention from its crowded field of candidates.

Clinton’s top Tennessee supporters include the majority of Davidson and Shelby counties' Democratic coalitions in the state legislature and both of the party’s U.S. congressmen from Tennessee, Jim Cooper of Nashville and Steve Cohen of Memphis.

After Clinton eked out a razor-close win last week in Iowa, the two Democratic contenders face off in New Hampshire on Tuesday.

Though Bernie Sanders is favored in the New Hampshire primary, he faces an uphill battle against Clinton in states that follow in the nomination process. Clinton holds a strong advantage in South Carolina and other Southern states that go to the polls on March 1.

That includes in Tennessee, where a recent poll from Middle Tennessee State University, found Clinton crushing Sanders among registered Tennessee voters who self-identified as Democrats, 47 percent to 15 percent.

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