Chelsea Clinton to step up role in her mother's campaign

By Dan Merica

Chelsea Clinton's role in her mother's presidential campaign will increase in the coming months, according to a source close to the former first daughter.

Clinton will start campaigning for her mother in January, making trips to Iowa, New Hampshire and other early states, the source said.

Chelsea Clinton's trip to Iowa and New Hampshire was first reported by Time magazine.

To date, Chelsea Clinton has been largely a behind-the-scenes player in Hillary Clinton's campaign, offering advice and personal support, but rarely appearing in public with her mother. Chelsea Clinton gave a speech at a September event hosted by Foundry Methodist Church in Washington and attended the campaign's launch in June, but that is the extent of her public appearances so far.

That will change this month and in the coming year.

Clinton will headline two campaign fundraisers in January, according to the source. These events will not include her mother, marking the first time Chelsea Clinton will venture onto the 2016 campaign trial without her.

Chelsea Clinton will headline a "Family Holiday Celebration With Hillary and Chelsea" on December 17 in New York, the first fundraiser to include the former first daughter as a headlining speaker.

Chelsea Clinton is seen as an asset to the campaign, especially with younger voters and students. The former first daughter played a sizable role in her mother's failed 2008 campaign, regularly stumping for her mother in important primary and caucus states, usually at colleges and universities.