Honolulu: Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu US Congresswoman, has officially launched her 2020 presidential campaign in Hawaii.
"It is this principle of service above self that is at the heart of every soldier, at the heart of every service member, and it is in this spirit that today I announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America," CNN quoted Gabbard as saying on Saturday at an event here.
"I will bring this soldier's principles to the White House, restoring the values of dignity, honour and respect to the presidency and above all else, love for our people and love for our country.
"I ask you to join me, join me in putting this spirit, this spirit of service above self at the forefront and to stand up against the forces of greed and corruption.
"The road ahead will not be easy. The battles will be tough. The obstacles great, but I know when we stand united by our love for our people and for our country, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome. There is no battle we cannot win," said Gabbard, who is not of Indian descent but comes from a Hindu family in Hawaii.
The official launch of the 37-year-old four-term Democratic congresswoman's campaign gives her presidential bid a chance at a reset after weeks of discord heading into the announcement.
Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran who gained national prominence in 2016 as an outspoken supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 campaign, will run for president as an anti-interventionalist Democrat who supports a populist economic agenda.
While the Congresswoman has highlighted health care access, criminal justice reform and climate change as key platform issues for her presidential run, her tenure in Congress has been defined by her anti-interventionist foreign policy positions.
Gabbard, who sits on the House Armed Services Committee, is the only military veteran to declare her candidacy and could be relying on her two tours in the Middle East to differentiate her from many Democratic presidential candidates, including Indian and African-Jamaican descent Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro.
Gabbard also was forced to apologize for her past opposition to same-sex marriage, which she now supports, and has been engaged in a public feud with Hawaii's popular Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono over a federal judicial nominee.
Democratic nominating contests begin in February 2020. The candidate who amasses the majority of delegates will be nominated at the party’s convention in the summer and will likely face Republican President Donald Trump in November's general election.
Gabbard served in Iraq and Kuwait in a Hawaii National Guard field medical unit, experiences she said helped inform her non-interventionist foreign policy views. She has made veterans issues a priority while in Congress.
In 2017 she expressed skepticism over the Trump administration's conclusion that Assad's government was behind a chemical weapons attack that killed dozens in Syria. Former Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean called Gabbard's views "a disgrace" and said she was unfit to be in Congress.
Last November, she blasted Trump for not taking a harder stance toward Saudi Arabia following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
She also slammed the administration for supporting Saudi Arabia in its conflict with Yemen.
