Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid

Hillary Clinton announced her 2016 presidential bid with this video released on social media today, as expected.

The clip, which runs a bit over 2 minutes and 15 seconds, looks more like an American Express small business commercial than a campaign announcement, possibly part of Clinton’s strategy to soften her image and go in a more modern direction.

In the video, a series of Americans, most of them women, some of them gay, many of color – Hispanic, Asian, African American — talking about “getting ready” to do something new, whether that is having a baby, retiring, moving or going back to work.

Clinton herself does not appear in the spot until about a minute and a half has elapsed, and when she comes into the frame, she does so seamlessly by shaking one of the players’ hands, and announces that she too is getting ready.

“I’m getting ready to do something, too,” says Clinton. “I’m running for president.”

She continues, “Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion. So you can do more than just get by, you can get ahead and stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong.”

Finally, Clinton sums it up thus: “So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote. Because it’s your time and I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”

After months of speculation, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will announce her presidential campaign Sunday with a video released on social media, CNN reports.

The news comes just a week after Clinton reportedly secured her campaign headquarters in a trendy Brooklyn, New York neighborhood. A source close to the campaign told CNN that Clinton has already filmed the video, which includes a message to Democrats that “she intends to aggressively fight for the party’s” nomination.

Central to Clinton’s second presidential run will be reintroducing the former first lady — on her own terms — to the American people. Democrats close to Clinton have started to call her the most unknown famous person in the world. Their argument is that people know of Clinton — she has near 100% name recognition in most polls — but they don’t know her story.

Clinton is expected to trade big rallies for a series of smaller events with voters, as she seeks to reintroduce herself to voters. Her supporters have urged Clinton to take the time to meet voters one-on-one and build their trust.

According to a source close to Clinton’s campaign in waiting, CNN writes, the former First Lady’s stop will most likely be Iowa. In 2008, she came in third in the caucuses.

“The views about women candidates and how they should conduct themselves has really changed since 2008,” said Bonnie Campbell, the co-chair of Clinton’s 2008 campaign in Iowa. “First and foremost people vote for candidates that they like, people who connect with them emotionally. I think that helps with everybody but certainly it helps with women and the men who love them. It just makes her a more complete person.”

And Clinton is expected to connect with voters in exactly that way — the campaign is said to be focused on her Midwestern upbringing, her family, and raising a daughter in the White House, all of which will present Clinton in a “favorable, softer light than she was seen during her 2008 presidential run,” according to CNN.

She’s also sure to bump up against some controversy. Earlier this year, Clinton found herself in hot water over using a private email server while she served as Secretary of State. It’s not clear how much damage the email scandal has done to her bid already, but we’re excited to see where she lands.