SALT LAKE CITY – Former Secretary of State Hilary Clinton announced she was running for president Sunday, and Utahns with political connections shared their perspective on her prospects with FOX 13 News.
In 2008, Hillary Clinton gave a concession speech that still sounded like a victory for women, and now in 2016, Clinton is going for the win, again.
“I'm running for president,” she said during a 2-minute video posted to her campaign website.
Sheryl Allen is a co-chair for Real Women Run in Utah, and she said she is happy about the announcement.
“I think it’s wonderful that we have a legitimate female candidate, again,” she said.
The organization aims to encourage more Utah women to participate in the political process, and they say Clinton’s second try for the presidency is as good a motivator as any.
'If we could see a woman leading this nation, the most powerful nation in the world, I think it would very much be an encouragement for women,” Allen said.
So far, Clinton is the only Democrat to officially announce. Utah Democratic Party Chairman Peter Corroon is eager to see who else joins her.
“Now that it’s happening, I think excitement will build behind her,” he said. “And there’s also other candidates who may announce, and I’m sure Democrats in Utah are wanting to see who some of the other candidates are.”
In the meantime, Clinton is preparing to ramp up her campaign. Seven years after losing, she is determined for a win.
“Every day Americans want a champion, and I want to be that champion,” Clinton said in her announcement video.
Clinton’s announcement didn't come without response from the Republican Party. On Fox News Sunday, 2012 Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney said he believes the GOP has the advantage.
"You've seen polls and in discussions across the country, a feeling that Hillary Clinton is just not trustworthy,” he said. “This whole story about her having erased all of her emails, even though they were subject to recall and review by Congress, I think that's made people remember that with the Clintons it's always something.”
Presidential candidate and Republican Kentucky Senator Rand Paul questioned Clinton's ethics, and Sunday morning his campaign issued an anti-Hillary ad.
The ad said in part: "Hillary Clinton represents the worst of the Washington machine."
"I do think that there is sort of a history of the Clintons sort of feeling like they're above the law,” Paul said.
Presidential candidate and Republican Texas Senator Ted Cruz spoke Friday about his feelings about a Clinton presidential run and the impact it might have on the gun control debate.
"If Hillary Clinton is going to join with Barack Obama and the gun grabbers and come after our guns, then what I say is come and take it," he said.
Saturday, President Obama praised his former Democratic opponent, saying he thinks she'd be an excellent president.
