Senator Elizabeth Warren announces 2020 presidential run

LAWRENCE, Mass. — Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren officially announced she is running for president at a Saturday afternoon speech on the front steps of the Everett Mills in Lawrence, Mass.

With her announcement, Warren joins an already crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Before even taking the stage, Warren subtly announced that she would be running for president in 2020, changing her Twitter to read, "Official Account: 2020 Presidential Campaign."

Warren began her speech by talking about the city of Lawrence, citing workers in the Everett Mills as catalysts for change around the country through their walkouts and strikes.

"Families that were already going to bed hungry had to make do with even less. They were cold. They were under attack. But they stuck together – and they won," Warren said.

"And those workers did more than improve their own lives. They changed America."

The senator then pivoted to today's United States, saying that millions of American families are struggling economically. She continued to denounce what she called a, "rigged system," going on to describe a need for a change in the country.

"We can’t afford to just tinker around the edges – a tax credit here, a regulation there," Warren said. "Our fight is for big, structural change."

She then announced that she was officially a candidate for president, before continuing to speak at length about her vision for the nation and the current state that she believes America is in.

Related: Warren expected to make presidential run announcement in Lawrence

Fellow Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey was one of several government officials who spoke before Warren took the stage. He talked about Warren's time in Congress as well as her background and beliefs, saying that he and the crowd shared the same goal of seeing Warren be the next president.

At the end of his ringing introduction, Markey turned the stage over to Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

Kennedy III, who represents Massachusetts' 4th Congressional District, spoke at length praising Warren moments before the announcement. As he introduced the senator, Kennedy summarized his speech by talking about the leader he believes America needs.

"A colleague, a mentor and a friend. That leader is the next President of the United States. That leader is Elizabeth Warren," Kennedy said before giving the stage to Warren.

Related: Sen. Elizabeth Warren announces presidential exploratory committee

A slew of other Democrats have already announced candidacies for the 2020 presedential election. That list includes a trio of Senator Warren's peers in Congress: New Jersey Senator Corey Booker, California Senator Kamala Harris, and Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii.

Also vying for the Democratic nomination are two former politicians: John Delaney, previously a Maryland representative, and Julián Castro, the former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President Obama.

New York buisnessman Andrew Yang and author Marianne Williamson of Texas have also announced they'll run in 2020, with a number of other potential candidates forming exploratory committees.

Warren rounded out her speech by harkening back to the Lawrence mill workers, saying that they refused to be divided before calling on her supporters to unite as well.

In her final words of the day, Warren talked about the historical context of the moment.

"This is our moment in history, the moment we are called to," Warren said. "This is our moment to dream big, fight hard and win."

On Saturday evening, President Donald Trump tweeted his response to Warren's announcement, hours after his campaign manager, Brad Parscale did the same. President Trump - on his own personal Twitter account - again called out Warren's previous claims of Native American heritage.

Warren went straight from her kickoff to New Hampshire, home to the nation's first primary, where her campaign projected that 350 people turned out for an event in the city of Dover.

"A Washington today works for the rich and powerful, not the working class, and that's why I'm in this fight," Warren said at the event.

She plans to spend Sunday in Iowa, where the leadoff caucuses will be the first test of candidates' viability.

Cox Media Group