Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is scheduled to hold a rally Sunday at the Moda Center in Portland.
Jim Moore, a political science professor at Pacific University, said Sanders wants to be seen as a true alternative to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as both seek the Democratic nomination for president.
Moore said Sanders has done a good job of drawing people into his campaign efforts in Iowa and New Hampshire, but in order to be successful, the candidate needs to campaign in other regions around the country.
"He’s trying to build momentum in the liberal hotbeds of the country so that he can move his candidacy towards basically being more legitimate," he said.
A poll by DHM Research, released Thursday, found that, among Democratic voters in Oregon, Clinton leads Sanders 44 to 39 percent, but Clinton's lead is within the poll's the margin of error.