Hillary Clinton Officially Announces Candidacy for U.S. Presidential Election

Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State of the United States and rival to Barack Obama in the Democratic primary seven years ago, has officially announced her candidacy for the upcoming 2016 presidential election in the United States. In a short video released on April 23, Clinton states, "Ordinary Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion." Clinton, who served as Secretary of State under President Obama before John Kerry, previously lost the Democratic nomination to Obama seven years ago. According to members of her campaign, she will be working on building the campaign framework, grassroots organizations, and direct communication with voters over the next six to eight weeks. Her team indicates that there will be no major campaign announcements or speeches until May, which will mark the beginning of her campaign's advertising efforts. Clinton is scheduled to travel to Iowa on Tuesday to participate in a small roundtable discussion focused on economic issues affecting ordinary Americans. Reports suggest that social media and virtual technology have gained Clinton's attention ahead of the previous election. Her Twitter page features a photo from her meeting with a family at the start of her trip to Iowa. The foreign ministers of France and Germany have expressed their support for her candidacy. According to Reuters, polls indicate that she has a significant lead over other potential rivals within the Democratic Party, with a Reuters-Ipsos poll showing that 60% of Democrats support her. In the rival Republican Party, Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have already announced their candidacies.