Bernie Sanders

Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks during a campaign event, Saturday, April 9, 2016, in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York. Sanders plans to rally supporters Tuesday, April 12, 2016, at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

(Mary Altaffer)

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will make his first campaign stop in Syracuse on Tuesday as he focuses on Upstate New York before the state's April 19 primary.

Sanders will address a rally at 2 p.m. Tuesday at the Nicholas J. Pirro Convention Center at Oncenter at 800 South State St., a campaign official told Syracuse.com.

Doors will open for the free, public event at 11 a.m. Tuesday. No tickets are needed, but those who plan to attend are asked to RSVP through the Sanders campaign website.

Sanders has been drawing large crowds to arenas and other large venues across the nation. The convention center has the capacity to seat about 5,000 people in its largest configuration.

His appearance follows Saturday's march by more than 100 Sanders supporters from Armory Square through downtown Syracuse. The "Syracuse for Sanders" group previously opened a campaign office at 2507 James St., making Sanders the only presidential candidate to establish a Syracuse office to date.

Sanders trails Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by 10 points or more in recent New York state polls, but is trying to pull off an upset in Clinton's adopted home state where she served as U.S. senator for eight years.

Sanders will turn his focus to Upstate voters in the next week, with other campaign stops planned in Binghamton on Monday, followed by a rally 7 p.m. Monday in Buffalo at the University of Buffalo's Alumni Arena.

The Vermont senator will become the third presidential candidate to visit Syracuse this month.

Clinton made Syracuse her first campaign stop in Upstate New York when she visited April 1. Clinton met with manufacturers and visited Varsity Pizza before holding a rally at the Central New York Regional Market.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, one of three Republicans still vying for the GOP nomination, visited Syracuse on Friday for a town hall meeting at Le Moyne College.

Republican front-runner Donald Trump plans to hold a campaign rally in Syracuse on Saturday, April 16. Trump's campaign has not yet confirmed the time, location and ticketing details for the event.

The third remaining GOP candidate, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, plans to campaign in Upstate New York next week. He has not confirmed any plans for a Syracuse visit.

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