What to expect from Hillary Clinton's 2016 kickoff rally
Hillary Clinton's campaign isn't saying much about her planned June 13 kickoff rally- where it will be held or even whether refreshments will be served, for example.
But we do know that the candidate's husband, former President Bill Clinton, and her daughter, Chelsea Clinton, will attend. And her message is beginning to take shape, as well: senior Clinton campaign officials said Thursday she will make a detailed pitch for where the country should go and why she is the right person to take it there. She'll discuss, in-depth, the "four big fights" she has already identified as pillars of her campaign - building the economy, strengthening communities and families, fixing the political system by getting "unaccountable" money out of politics, and safeguarding America's national security.
Clinton, a former first lady, senator, and secretary of state, declared her bid in a web video last month. The last few weeks have carried her on a listening tour of early primary and caucus states, where she's eschewed splashy public events in favor of smaller gatherings. She's asked more questions of voters than she's answered from the press.
Following her kickoff rally, Clinton's schedule will continue to include small roundtable events in early voting states like Iowa and New Hampshire, officials said, but it will incorporate larger events in person and on digital platforms.
Don't expect a quick build-up, though: the campaign is happy with the pace so far, and officials maintain that it was Clinton herself who wanted to start with small events to emphasize a departure from her 2008 run. The strategy moving forward will continue to emphasize intimate events that suit each particular state's needs and personalities.
The campaign will focus heavily on Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada, with a particular emphasis on Iowa, where they aim to build a robust ground operation to get out the vote in the state's caucuses. But the campaign is mobilizing in all 50 states - another departure from her 2008 bid, which did not initially build a nationwide operation because it assumed she'd have the nomination sewn up after the first few contests.
Clinton's fundraising team is hoping to raise $100 million in hard money in 2015 for the primaries, a figure that does not take into account the money that super PACs that support her will raise. There is evident concern about the money being raised on the Republican side through super PACs, and officials said Clinton has added fundraisers to her schedule because of that -- not because the campaign wasn't meeting its own fundraising goals, as some reported.
Despite Clinton's dominance of early Democratic primary polls, campaign officials say they expect her to face a stiff fight in the primary and the general elections alike. Clinton has one declared primary challenger thus far, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, and she'll get a second on Saturday, when former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley is expected to launch a bid.
CBS News Digital Journalist Hannah Fraser-Chanpong contributed to this report.