Hillary Clinton will headline 3 DNC fundraisers

Hillary Clinton will headline three fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in the coming months, in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, three Democratic sources tell CNN.

Posted 10:40 p.m. Aug 20, 2018 — Updated 10:40 p.m. Aug 20, 2018

Dan Merica

, CNN

(CNN) — Hillary Clinton will headline three fundraisers for the Democratic National Committee in the coming months, in San Francisco, Chicago and New York, three Democratic sources tell CNN.

The fundraisers, despite likely being closed to the press, will amount to the most public political step Clinton has taken since ending her tour promoting her 2017 memoir, "What Happened," about the 2016 presidential election. While she has remained active on Twitter and her political organization has donated to a host of Democratic House candidates, she has yet to headline a public event for a 2018 candidate.

The events, billed as "intimate dinners with discussion" with the former Democratic presidential nominee, were first reported by NBC News.

Clinton's events are expected to boost a DNC that has struggled with fundraising ahead of the midterm elections. While the RNC has brought in well over $227 million, including $14.2 million in July, Democrats have raised $117 million total, including $7.1 million in July, per a party official.

President Barack Obama also looked to help the DNC with fundraising when he headlined a California event in June.

This will not be Clinton's first DNC fundraiser of the cycle. She headlined the annual Women's Leadership Forum gala in May, along with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Kamala Harris of California. Both are considered likely 2020 presidential candidates.

While Clinton is stepping up her involvement in the midterms, she has yet to headline a public event for a candidate. Republicans are eager to use her presence against Democrats, tying candidates to her views and some of her most controversial comments.

Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill told CNN earlier this month that Clinton will do "whatever it takes to lift up candidates and organizations who will be terrific stewards of Democratic values," but he did not detail upcoming events for candidates.

Clinton did headline a closed July fundraiser in New York for Lucy McBath, the reluctant African-American gun rights activist who became a "Mother of the Movement" after her 17-year-old son, Jordan Davis, was shot and killed by a white man in 2012 during a dispute over loud music. McBath, who recently won her runoff in Georgia's 6th Congressional District, was a fervent supporter of Clinton during the 2016 campaign.

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