Clinton confirms bid to be first female president

The former First Lady and Secretary of State made her 2016 plans official on her campaign website today.

She says in a video that “everyday Americans need a champion. I want to be that champion”.

If successful, Mrs Clinton would become the first female president, but she enters the Democratic primaries in a strong position to succeed her 2008 rival, President Barack Obama.

Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign will focus on boosting economic security for the middle class and expanding opportunities for working families, while casting the former US senator and Secretary of State as a “tenacious fighter” able to get results.

Until now she has offered only hints of what would drive her if she were to make a second bid to become president.

Mrs Clinton, who lost the 2008 nomination to Barack Obama, will skip a flashy kick-off rally in favour of conversations with voters about the economic needs of middle-class families and the next generation.

She appears unlikely to face a formidable primary opponent, although a handful of lower-profile Democrats such as former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley are considering campaigns.

Should she win the nomination, Mrs Clinton would face the winner of a crowded Republican primary field that could feature as many as two dozen candidates.

Conservative senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz have already entered the race, Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is expected to announce his candidacy today and former Florida governor Jeb Bush, brother and son of former presidents, is also likely to run.

Her strategy has echoes of Mr Obama’s successful 2012 re-election campaign. He framed the choice for voters as between Democrats focused on the middle class and Republicans wanting to protect the wealthy and revive policies that led to the 2008 economic collapse.