Hillary Clinton may declare president bid on Sunday

The announcement - expected to come Sunday, according to reports citing sources in her campaign team - would make the 67-year-old the clear Democratic frontrunner in the race to succeed President Barack Obama.

The former First Lady is expected to announce her candidacy via social media and a video message, several US media reported, followed by a low-key campaign swing through key state Iowa. Iowa is the first state to vote in the primary season that starts in early 2016. The election is set for November 2016. Spokespeople for Ms Clinton and the Ready for Hillary organisation did not comment.

Unlike when she first ran for President in 2008, Ms Clinton’s path to clinching the Democratic nomination appears relatively clear. The wife of former President Bill Clinton leads opinion polls among Democrats, some 60 per cent of whom say they would vote for her in the primaries, according to the website RealClearPoli-tics. Two other potential candidates - Senator Elizabeth Warren and vice-president Joe Biden - have not yet said they intend to run.

On the Republican side, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have already thrown their hats into the ring, with more candidates likely to follow — including Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida, brother to President George W. Bush and son of President George Bush.

Though Ms Clinton has not yet officially announced her candidacy, her supporters and campaign teams have for years been preparing the ground for an eventual run.

The Ready for Hillary group has raised more than $14 million to support her from 135,000 donors. Ms Clinton can also draw on a database of 3.6 million supporters. She is expected to lead - at least at the start - a low-key campaign, with small events for voters in key states.

“I think it’s important, and Hillary does too, that she go out there as if she’s never run for anything before and establish her connection with the voters,” Bill Clinton told Town and Country magazine.