Sen. Bernie Sanders, widely favored to win Nevada's caucuses, has already left the state and has held his first among many state-wide rallies in El Paso, Texas.
The Vermont independent, his wife Jane, and staffers and traveling press left Nevada for Texas Saturday morning, before the Nevada caucuses began, reports The New York Times.
Sanders has rallies also scheduled in San Antonio, Houston, and Austin before this weekend is out, and then he will head to South Carolina.
Hillary Clinton strongly defeated Sanders in Texas in 2016, after securing 65% of the vote, but his campaign says it feels better about the Super Tuesday state this year.
The senator is courting the state's Latino votes, with the campaign traveling through the state. Sanders visited Mesquite just over a week ago, The Times notes.
Before his El Paso campaign event, Sanders visited a memorial for the victims of the Aug. 3 shooting that left 22 dead and about two dozen injured. That’s according to a local politician who addressed the crowd before Sanders took the stage. Another 2020 contender, Mike Bloomberg, also said he visited the memorial before his rally this month.
Early voting is already underway in Texas, one of the Super Tuesday states holding contests March 3.Texas is the second biggest prize for the March 3 primaries, coming in just behind California. Sanders has also spent a great deal of time campaigning in California, and his campaign is focused on North Carolina and Virginia in particular.