Warren confirms 2020 presidential bid

Exploratory committee no longer: U.S. Sen Elizabeth Warren is officially running for president.

The Cambridge Democrat made her long-expected announcement against the backdrop of two industrial-era mill buildings in Lawrence on a blustery Saturday morning, evoking their history as the site of the 1912 Bread and Roses textile workers’ strike in telling a crowd of a few thousand that she would continue to fight for them.

Despite spending the days leading up to the announcement dogged by controversy over her Native American heritage claims, Warren presented a strong front to a mixed group of staunch supporters and those who were not yet in her camp, but were willing to listen.

Warren was preceded on Saturday by several local and state politicians, including longtime supporter Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera, U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan, whose district includes Lawrence, U.S. Sen. Edward Markey, and U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III.

Warren’s speech touched on the struggles of the working class and on creating opportunity.

“We are here to take on a fight that will shape our lives, our children’s lives, and our grandchildren’s lives, just as surely as the fight that began in these streets more than a century ago,” she said from prepared remarks.

She also took cracks at President Trump, though did not mention him by name, calling him the “product of a rigged system that props up the rich and the powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else.”

Onlookers came from near and far. Some were longtime supporters who came from as far away as Douglas, others were locals who had internalized the criticism spewed upon Warren but were looking to see if she could overcome it.

“I think it’s a big deal that she lied about her ethnicity,” said 18-year-old John Boyle of Andover, who attends Central Catholic High School in Lawrence. “That really rubs me the wrong way. If she lied about that, is she going to tell the truth about other things?”

But Jim Eddy of Douglas said he believed Warren could get past the controversy.

“I think she’s a rockstar,” he said.

And here’s U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren to finally announce her 2020 presidential bid, receiving a warm welcome from the crowd of several hundred in #LawrenceMA @bostonherald pic.twitter.com/R7rQR3Jvp3

— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) February 9, 2019

Warren stands in front of the mills where thousands of #LawrenceMA workers walked off their jobs in 1912 for fair wages and overtime pay. Today, Warren says it’s time to fight against a system that “props up the rich and powerful and kicks dirt on everyone else.” @bostonherald pic.twitter.com/Hx2z8oanLK

— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) February 9, 2019

Warren: “We need to take power in Washington away from the wealthy and well-connected and put it back in the hands of the people where it belongs.” pic.twitter.com/34U8bnFEjP

— Lisa Kashinsky (@lisakashinsky) February 9, 2019