HONOLULU (AP) – U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, a Hawaii Democrat known for bucking the party establishment and for criticizing U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, formally launched her campaign for president with a video posted online Thursday.
Gabbard joins a growing field of Democrats seeking their party’s nomination. U.S. Housing Secretary Julian Castro recently announced a bid, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Sen. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Sen. Kamala Harris of California say they are running.
“We have people in positions of power who are not thinking about the well-being of the people and our planet,” Gabbard said in the video . “Where is that conversation about the needs of our people?”
Gabbard, 37, has represented Honolulu’s suburbs and rural Hawaii in the U.S. House since 2013. She is a combat veteran who served in Iraq and Kuwait with the Hawaii National Guard.
She was an early, vocal supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders during the last presidential campaign, which has made her popular with progressive Democrats.