The race to become the next U.S. president is quickly getting crowded, with Senator Marco Rubio set to announce his bid Monday, a day after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton launched her campaign.
The 43-year-old Rubio, who is the son of Cuban immigrants, is expected to formally join the race at an event Monday evening in Miami at the site where authorities first registered Cubans fleeing the government of Fidel Castro in the 1960s.
A video promoting the announcement casts Rubio’s campaign as a “new direction for America.” It features clips of speeches where he promotes the need for the U.S. to be a strong world leader and criticizes the policies of President Barack Obama.
Rubio will be the third Republican to compete for the party’s nomination for the 2016 election, joining fellow Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz. Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush are also expected to run.
Clinton announced her candidacy to be the Democratic nominee in an online video Sunday in which she promised to work for the middle class.
“Everyday Americans need a champion and I want to be that champion so you can do more than just get by,” she said. “You can get ahead and stay ahead. Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times. But the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.”
Clinton is the first Democrat to join the race to succeed Obama, who defeated her in the 2008 Democratic primaries and cannot run again after serving terms as president.
Recent polls indicate Clinton would beat every other possible Democrat for the party nomination, as well as winning the general election by a landslide over all Republican candidates.
But Republican National Committee head Reince Priebus said Sunday he believes voters do not trust her.
“Over decades as a Washington insider, Clinton has left a trail of secrecy, scandal and failed policies that cannot be erased from voters’ minds,” said Priebus.
They include the deadly terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya and using an unofficial email account for official business as secretary of state. Republicans also are likely to bring up scandals involving her husband, former President Bill Clinton.
If elected, Hillary Clinton would be the country’s first female president. She plans to begin her campaign in the early key voting states of Iowa and New Hampshire, which hold the first caucuses and primaries.
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