Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren officially announced on Saturday (Feb. 9) that she’s running for US president, entering a field that already features four women who are considered major candidates.
There’s never been this many women running in a presidential primary election, with New York senator Kirsten Gilibrand, California senator Kamala Harris, and Hawaii representative Tulsi Gabbard also officially in the race to become the Democratic candidate. Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is also expected to enter the fray. The strong lineup comes after Americans elected a record number of women to Congress in the 2018 midterm elections.
“This is the fight of our lives” Warren said today in her announcement speech. “The fight to build an America where dreams are possible, an America that works for everyone.”
Warren, who entered the stage to the tune of Dolly Parton’s anthem “9 to 5,” chose a place laden with symbolism to announce her run: Everett Mills in Lawrence, Massachusetts, the site of the massive 1912 labor strike that united women and immigrant workers in a struggle for better pay.
Warren, who is among the most progressive candidates in the race, announced forming an exploratory committee in late December, but hadn’t made the formal bid until now.
“We are here to take on a fight that will shape our lives, our children’s lives, and our grandchildren’s lives, just as surely as the fight that began in these streets more than a century ago,” she said. “Because the man in the White House is not the cause of what’s broken, he’s just the latest—and most extreme—symptom of what’s gone wrong in America.”
The men who have already announced their candidacies include New Jersey senator Cory Booker and former housing secretary Julian Castro. A fifth woman, author and self-help guru Marianne Williamson, has also announced she’s running.