Clinton campaign heads to Florida

TAMPA, Fla., Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Hillary Clinton's campaign heads to Florida, beginning with a private event closed to the media.

Clinton's campaign will spend most of Wednesday in Florida, starting in Tampa. Longtime Clinton supporter and former chief financial officer for the state of Florida, Alex Sink, hosted a fundraiser in the morning at her home in Thonotosassa. Sink lost a 2010 gubernatorial bid against Republican Rick Scott and also ran an unsuccessful campaign against GOP Congressman David Jolly last year.

Bay News 9 reports the fundraiser was dubbed "A Conversation with Hillary Clinton." Clinton's campaign says the goal of the event is to discuss issues that "keep Floridians up at night." Media was not invited.

Clinton will then travel to Orlando.

Following the "Hillary for Orlando Grassroots Event" in the afternoon, Clinton is scheduled to appear at fundraising receptions in Windermere and Jacksonville at the homes of donors.

On Tuesday evening, Clinton appeared in Miami for two fundraising events, according to The Tampa Bay Times.

The paper reports Clinton's campaign has not hired staffers in Florida outside of fundraising staff. This is in contrast to Barack Obama's 2012 strategy, when he had several paid staffers in the battleground state a year before the general election.

Wednesday's event in Orlando will be Clinton's third public event in Florida as a presidential candidate. In October, she spoke at Broward College, and in July she spoke at the National Urban League conference in Fort Lauderdale.