Bernie Sanders to Campaign in Tacoma on Monday

Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders will make his first Washington campaign appearance of 2020 on Monday, holding a rally in the Tacoma Dome.

Sanders, coming off a win in the New Hampshire primary, has scheduled the Presidents Day rally for 7 p.m., according to his campaign. U.S. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Seattle, who is chairing Sanders’ Washington state campaign, will join him at the event.

Doors for the free rally will open at 5 p.m. People will be admitted on a first-come, first-served basis. Those who want to attend are encouraged to RSVP online.

The Vermont senator won Washington’s 2016 Democratic caucuses after holding several arena-packing rallies in the state. This year, the state Democratic Party has ditched the much-maligned caucuses in favor of a presidential primary, which will take place March 10. Ballots will be mailed next week.

The race for the Democratic presidential nomination remains in flux, with Sanders vying with other top contenders, including Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, who placed a close second in New Hampshire, and Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who placed third. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, remains in third place in the national delegate count.

Buttigieg is also scheduled for a Washington campaign stop, with a private fundraiser set for Saturday in Seattle. As of Thursday afternoon, his campaign had announced no public events.

Sanders’ popularity has thrilled progressives, who say he’d generate unprecedented enthusiasm, but has set off alarms among some in the party’s establishment who fear his embrace of the democratic socialist label will guarantee a second term for President Donald Trump.

In Washington state, Sanders has benefited from a volunteer base left over from his 2016 run. He has outpaced all other Democrats here in campaign fundraising — both in terms of number of donors and in the amount he has raised.