Hillary Clinton Announces She Is Running for President

Former Senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended two years of speculation Sunday when she officially announced her candidacy for President of the United States.

The Democrat and Chappaqua resident did not make the announcement in her adopted hometown, instead turning to her website and social media to let voters know. She joins Republican Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. Rand Paul as the first official major party candidates for the nation’s highest office.

“Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion,” she says in the launch video ”Getting Started,” which can be viewed below.

The video features regular Americans discussing their lives and dreams, and Clinton does not appear until more than half way through the 2:18 clip.

Clinton instantly becomes the front-runner for the Democratic nomination, reports The New York Times, which also said she plans a hold a formal campaign kickoff event sometime in the next month. Her next stop is to meet with voters in Iowa, which holds the influential first caucus.

The 2016 campaign marks Clinton’s second attempt to capture her party’s nomination, having lost a bruising battle to eventual nominee and President Barack Obama.

Congresswoman Nita Lowey released a statement Sunday supporting Clinton, who she has known and worked with for years. “It has been my great honor to call Hillary Clinton my friend and constituent, Senator, and Secretary of State. I will work hard to ensure that in two years, we call her ’Madam President.’”

Lowey added, “She has devoted her life’s work to public service. Among her many accomplishments, Hillary was a great partner in delivering relief to New York after September 11th and health coverage for more than 6 million American children. She has advanced women’s and gay rights domestically and internationally, and effectively represented the United States on the world stage.

“As President, Hillary Clinton would give hard-working Americans the education, opportunity, and security that every family deserves.”

Photo: Hillary Clinton in a screen shot of her campaign launch video via YouTube.com