Hillary Clinton launches second presidential bid

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(CNN) —

Hillary Clinton put an end to months of speculation on Sunday by officially announcing her candidacy for president, giving the former secretary of state another shot at cracking the highest glass ceiling in American politics.

The initial word came in an email to supporters from John Podesta, a longtime Clinton ally, then a video launched on YouTube and a newly minted Facebook page.

“I’m getting ready to do something too. I’m running for president,” Clinton said in the video. “Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion – so you can do more than just get by – you can get ahead. And stay ahead. Because when families are strong, America is strong. So I’m hitting the road to earn your vote, because it’s your time. And I hope you’ll join me on this journey.”

The video was shot last week, a campaign official told CNN. Clinton’s part was shot in New York with the rest of the video shot in places including Iowa and New Hampshire, a campaign official told CNN.

Clinton was at her home in New York for the launch of her campaign. She will be making some calls to top Democrats Sunday, as will her senior staff, according to a campaign official.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles before speaking at the World Bank May 14, 2014 in Washington, DC. Clinton and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim joined others to speak about women

Who is Hillary Clinton?

INTERACTIVE: Hillary Clinton tries again

Following the video release, the Clinton campaign sent our a press release detailing her next steps.

“She’s committed to spending the next six to eight weeks in a ‘ramp up’ period where her team will start to build a nation-wide grassroots organization, and she will spend her time engaging directly with voters,” according to the release. “In May, once her supporters in all 50 states are organized for house parties or to watch over live streams, Hillary will hold her first rally and deliver the speech to kick off her campaign.”

She’ll travel to Monticello, Iowa on Tuesday before heading to Norwalk on Wednesday, according to a campaign aide.

Clinton’s second presidential run is another chapter in a life that has seen the former first lady go from a child raised in a conservative home outside Chicago to one of the most recognizable women in the world. Clinton became a household name in 1992 when her husband, Bill Clinton, won the presidency.

Since then, Hillary Clinton has become a force in her own right, serving in the Senate for eight years, unsuccessfully running for president in 2008 and leading the State Department from 2009 to 2013.

Over the coming months, Clinton’s campaign will plot how to reintroduce the former first lady – on her own terms – to the American people. Democrats close to Clinton have started to call her the most unknown famous person in the world. Their argument is that people know of Clinton – she has near 100% name recognition in most polls – but they don’t know her story.

SEE: What is Hillary Clinton thinking?

A Mr. and Mrs. President?

Using small, controlled events with everyday people, the campaign will hone in on Clinton’s personal story, using themes such as her Midwestern upbringing, her mother’s perseverance in the face of neglectful parents and Clinton’s own time raising a daughter to cast the presidential hopeful in a more favorable, softer light than she was seen during much of her 2008 presidential run.

Clinton’s candidacy has been widely anticipated. Even since before Clinton left the State Department in early 2013, speculation that she would take another shot at the White House has followed her.

For her part, Clinton willingly teased those expectations for the better part of the last two years as she crisscrossed the country delivering paid speeches, selling her new memoir and stumping for Democrats during the 2014 midterm elections. Throughout all of it, Clinton was consistently peppered with questions about her presidential ambitions and plans for the future. She was reluctant to tease a bid in early 2014 – telling an audience in New Orleans that she wasn’t even thinking about a run – but grew less coy this year when she began to embrace the expectations around her.

Social media reacts to Clinton’s announcement (and that new logo)

Prohibitive favorite

Clinton, the first to enter the Democratic presidential field, enters the race as the prohibitive favorite for the nomination, even though some of her poll numbers have slipped of late, likely because of a nagging email controversy.

A CNN/ORC International poll in March found that Clinton held a 50-point lead over her closest competitor, Vice President Joe Biden. What’s more, the three Democrats most actively teasing a presidential run – former Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, former Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia and independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont – all received no more than 3% support among Democrats and independents that lean Democratic.

Clinton’s dominance in the polls – along with the work of a number of outside pro-Clinton organizations – has helped freeze the Democratic field. But a dozen or so Republicans may ultimately line up for the chance to take Clinton on.

Ahead of her expected announcement, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released a YouTube video Sunday attempting to connect Clinton to the “failed big government policies” of President Barack Obama.

Though she just announced her candidacy on Sunday, she is already surrounded by a sizable Democratic operation; Clinton has had around 30 people “volunteering” on her behalf in recent weeks.

Podesta, her anticipated campaign chairman, and Robby Mook, her expected campaign manager, began assembling a campaign apparatus this year, and a number of political operatives moved to New York in March and April to work for the nascent campaign. All of the new hires, however, have been considered volunteers until this point, meaning they have not been paid for weeks of work.

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The consigliere - John Podesta, one of the top liberal minds in politics, will serve as Clinton's campaign chairman. A former White House chief of staff for Bill Clinton and a top counselor for President Obama, Podesta has the stature to speak truth to power. His influential role in early structural and strategic decisions suggests that he will be a far more hands-on campaign chairman than most.

PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The manager - Robby Mook impressed Clinton-land when he ran Hillary Clinton's 2008 campaign to primary wins in Nevada, Ohio and Indiana, and again when he led Terry McAuliffe - a longtime Clinton friend and confidant - to the Virginia governor's mansion in 2013. The numbers-focused, Vermont-native has had his hand in hiring many of top campaign strategists this time around and is pushing Clinton's sharp focus on Iowa and New Hampshire.

PHOTO: CSPAN

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The strategist - Joel Benenson started to work with Clinton in 2014, when the former secretary of state was mulling a run and piecing a staff together. The lead pollster for President Obama's winning campaign and re-election, who also worked on Bill Clinton's 1996 race, will be the top campaign strategist for Hillary Clinton. His firm is already starting to test themes and messages for this campaign.

PHOTO: Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The adman - Jim Margolis also once worked to defeat Hillary Clinton. Now, he is working with her. Margolis was a senior adviser to both President Barack Obama's successful campaigns and has worked with a number of senators, including Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid. Margolis will server as Clinton's top media adviser and ad maker.

PHOTO: GMMB website

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The right-hand man - Marlon Marshall has long been Robby Mook's trusted right-hand man and is seen as a talented organizer and field director. He knows what went right -- and wrong -- during Hillary Clinton's first presidential race because he was there and will be in charge of making adjustments this time. He helped found the Democratic consulting firm 270 Strategies and during a stint at the White House was tasked with promoting Obamacare enrollment.

PHOTO: Kris Connor/Getty Images for SiriusXM

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The fundraiser - While Hillary Clinton mulled her presidential run, Dennis Cheng pulled double duty for a short time: Working as the chief development officer at The Clinton Foundation and starting to build a 2016 fundraising team. Cheng, who is credited with raising more than $248 million for the foundation since 2011, will fill the campaign's top finance post and take on the daunting task of fortifying what is expected to be a billion-dollar campaign.

PHOTO: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Photo

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The gate-keeper - Huma Abedin has worn many hats for Hillary Clinton - intern, "body woman," chief of staff - but the title that best describes her is gate keeper and confidant. No one without the last name Clinton is said to have a tighter relationship with the former secretary of state. Although her formal title in the 2016 campaign is not yet clear, she remains one of Clinton's most trusted personal aides.

PHOTO: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The wonk - As the campaign's top policy adviser, Jake Sullivan will look to navigate Clinton's campaign through complex issues, particularly on foreign policy matters like Iran. In 2011, Sullivan became the youngest director of policy in department history, an experience that earned him Clinton's implicit respect and trust.

PHOTO: Department of State youtube video

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The protector- Cheryl Mills is one of Hillary Clinton's closest, longest confidants. She was a top lawyer in the Clinton White House and served as Hillary Clinton's chief of staff at the State Department. She also is a member of the Clinton Foundation board of directors. While Mills isn't expected to hold a formal campaign role, she will continue to have something more important: Hillary Clinton's ear.

PHOTO: Filippo Monteforte/AFP/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The enforcer - Most journalists in Washington can remember the last time they got a nasty-gram from Philippe Reines and a simple Google search will lead you to a handful. The veteran of Capitol Hill and Clinton's senior adviser at State has been a part of Clinton's communication team for years and is expected to play a role in 2016. This time, however, it will be from the outside.

PHOTO: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The communicator - Jennifer Palmieri has a deep history with Democratic presidential elections and will serve as the campaign's communications director. A member of the team's senior staff, Palmieri is known for her cordial and direct relations with the press, dating back to her time in the first Clinton White House. She last served as President Obama's communications director, but left the White House in March to join the Clinton campaign.

PHOTO: White House youtube video

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The image maven - The job of retooling Hillary Clinton's image will fall primarily to Kristina Schake, a communications veteran whose background includes working for issue campaigns, multinational corporations and Hollywood stars. As Michelle Obama's communications director, Schake was credited with helping to turn the first lady into an everywoman known for dancing on national TV and touring colleges with her daughter.

PHOTO: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images for HBO

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The brain - Neera Tanden is currently the head of the Center for American Progress. She's worked with Clinton since 1997, serving as a deputy campaign manager in the 2000 Senate campaign, her policy director in the Senate and during the 2008 presidential campaign. The two regularly talk and because CAP is a pro-Clinton research body, Tanden will continue to wield influence inside and outside the campaign.

PHOTO: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The institutionalist - Of all the people working on Clinton's 2016 campaign, Mandy Grunwald may know the Clintons the longest. Grunwald first worked for the Clintons in 1992, when she served as director of advertising on Bill Clinton's presidential campaign. Grunwald has grown closer with Hillary Clinton through the years and guided her advertising on the 2008 campaign. This time, she will be one of the top strategists to shape her message.

PHOTO: Getty Images

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The politico - Amanda Renteria, who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2014 in Calfornia, will serve as Clinton's national political director. She was the first Latina chief of staff on Capitol Hill when she worked for Michigan Sen. Debbie Stabenow in 2008.

PHOTO: Amanda Renteria Campaign Office

Photos: Hillary Clinton's team

The techie - Stephanie Hannon left Google and her role as the company's director of product management for civic innovation and social impact to join the Clinton campaign. Hannon will oversee the implementation of Clinton's digital strategy, including both the strategic plans and technical side of building a website, apps and other web platforms for the campaign, most of which fell short to the Obama organization eight years ago.

PHOTO: Google web developer blog

The team includes a handful of top aides and advisers from her 2008 run, but has intentionally drawn from new sources, including Democratic committees in Washington and, most notably, Obama’s presidential runs in 2008 and 2012.

Early states

Clinton’s top aides have already dispatched senior Democratic operatives to critical early states – namely Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada. Those hires are an attempt by Mook and others to signal that Clinton isn’t taking the nomination for granted this time around, a charge that many early voters and experts leveled against her 2008 campaign.

In a memo distributed at meeting of campaign staff on Saturday, Mook stressed the importance of staying humble, disciplined and united.

“We are humble,” reads the memo, which was obtained by CNN from a Democrat in the room. “We take nothing for granted, we are never afraid to lose, we always outcompete and fight for every vote we can win. We know this campaign will be won on the ground, in states.”

Iowa’s most active Democrats, who watched Clinton finish in an abysmal third in 2008, couldn’t agree more.

“She kind of thought she was inevitable and her staff were going to tell us how to do things,” said Monica McCarthy, the former Union County Democratic Party chair and a Biden supporter in 2008. “Iowa, we are really spoiled, we are used to that pressing the flesh and talking to these people. We expect that.”

The Clinton campaign will start that process right after the Clinton video is released, according a Democrat with knowledge of the planning.

Clinton’s headquarters will be in Brooklyn, a culturally and economically diverse borough of New York City that the campaign will likely use as a backdrop for a message, it says, will focus on equality, inclusion and prosperity for all Americans.