--- title: 2016 Rivals Respond to Clinton Announcement description: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's rivals wasted no time responding to her official campaign launch. canonical: https://time.com/3818792/hillary-clinton-campaign-launch-rivals/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-04-12T20:27:23.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-19T07:42:31.927Z article:section: Politics og:title: 2016 Rivals Respond to Clinton Announcement og:description: They wasted no time. og:url: https://time.com/3818792/hillary-clinton-campaign-launch-rivals/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c559b576f5d7d16/6987eac52dce018cea9e1458/hillary-clinton-presidential-election.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Hillary Clinton Announces 2016 Presidential Bid - Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: 2016 Rivals Respond to Clinton Announcement twitter:description: They wasted no time. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3c559b576f5d7d16/6987eac52dce018cea9e1458/hillary-clinton-presidential-election.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # 2016 Rivals Respond to Clinton Announcement > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments [Watch (HLS stream): Hillary Clinton's Top 10 Political Moments](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/L3I0gpwt.m3u8) (1:49)  _Published 2015-04-09. Watch the top 10 moments from Hillary Clinton's career in politics._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 12, 2015 8:27 PM UTC  Video still of Hillary Rodham Clinton announcing that she will seek the presidency for a second time, immediately establishing herself as the likely 2016 Democratic nominee on April 12, 2015. Video still of Hillary Rodham Clinton announcing that she will seek the presidency for a second time, immediately establishing herself as the likely 2016 Democratic nominee on April 12, 2015. AP by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Apr 12, 2015 8:27 PM UTC Rivals were chomping at the bit even before former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton [formally announced her presidential bid](http://time.com/3818768/hillary-clinton-white-house-bid-2016-election/) Sunday afternoon, releasing statements and videos and hawking swag attacking the Democratic front-runner. “We’re ready for Hillary,” said Republican hopeful Sen. Ted Cruz in a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqQQ0meWnFc&feature=em-uploademail). “Hillary Clinton represents the failed policies of the past.” On Sunday morning, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush released a [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOzLLj-IxjM&feature=youtu.be) saying the nation “must to do better than the Obama-Clinton foreign policy.” Former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina, the only other woman eyeing the White House, said in a video statement that Clinton “doesn’t have a track record of leadership or trustworthiness. She’s not the woman for the White House.” **MORE** [Hillary Clinton’s Main Obstacle: Her Own Inevitability](http://time.com/3774585/hillary-clintons-main-obstacle-her-own-inevitability/?iid=time%5Fspeed) Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker tweeted that Americans want leaders from [outside](https://twitter.com/ScottWalker/status/587336895572631554) Washington, and [tied](https://twitter.com/ScottWalker/status/587333536962764800) Clinton to President Obama’s foreign policy, while former Texas Gov. Rick Perry [tweeted](https://twitter.com/GovernorPerry/status/587348412229517312) that “America can’t afford another \[four\] years of the Obama-Clinton agenda.” ### See 10 Presidential Campaign Launches  Mitt Romney launched his second campaign on June 2, 2011, in the first primary state, New Hampshire, with a scathing attack on President Obama's economic record. Stephan Savoia—AP  John McCain launched his second campaign on April 25, 2007, in New Hampshire with a speech that began with the Iraq War and foreign policy. Stephan Savoia—AP  Barack Obama launched his campaign before the Old State Capitol in Springfield, Ill., on Feb. 10, 2007, with a speech that referenced Abraham Lincoln. Mark Cowan—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Hillary Clinton launched her presidential campaign on Jan. 20, 2007, by posting the words "I'm in" on her website. AP  John Kerry launched his presidential campaign on Sept. 2, 2003, in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., with a speech about the Iraq War. Lawrence Jackson—AP  June 16, 1999 Carthage, Tenn. Ron Edmonds—AP  George W. Bush launched his first campaign on June 12, 1999, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, with a speech about "compassionate conservatism." Harry Hamburg—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Bill Clinton launched his first campaign on Oct. 3, 1991, in Little Rock, Ark., with a speech about change. Cynthia Johnson—Getty Images  George H.W. Bush announced his first presidential campaign on Oct. 12, 1987, in Houston, Texas, with a speech about his work as vice president. Ed Kolenovsky—AP  Ronald Reagan launched his presidential campaign on Nov. 13, 1979,in New York City with a speech about the role of government. Walt Zeboski—AP Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, one of the GOP’s most intense Clinton critics, devoted a section of his presidential campaign web store to items mocking Clinton, including a Clinton [hard drive](https://store.randpaul.com/index.php/hillary/hillary-s-hard-drive.html)—a reference to her deleted emails from her time at the State Department. “I know Hillary Clinton. I served with Hillary Clinton. Hillary Clinton does not have the right vision to lead America,” said former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum in a statement. **MORE** [Liberal Groups Respond to Hillary Clinton Campaign Launch](http://time.com/3818704/hillary-clinton-campaign-launch-liberals/?iid=time%5Fspeed) South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham also had harsh words. “The middle class is getting screwed by the administration’s domestic agenda & I believe it would be more of the same with Clinton,” he [tweeted](https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/587341688160391170). Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, who is expected to launch a Democratic challenge to Clinton from the left next month, addressed Clinton’s impending announcement Friday before an event in Iowa. “Democrats expect a robust conversation about the issues we face as a nation and the challenges we face and the solutions to our problems,” he told reporters. “And they believe that that conversation needs to take place in something as important as a presidential primary. It would be an extreme poverty indeed if there were only one person willing to compete for our party’s nomination.” _Read next:_ [_Clinton Takes Road Trip to Iowa for First Campaign Event_](http://time.com/3819098/hillary-clinton-2016-election-iowa-campaign-president-race-caucus-democrat-republican/?iid=time%5Freadnext) ### See Hillary Clinton's Evolution in 20 Photos  Teenager: Hillary Rodham poses in her 1965 senior class portrait from Park Ridge East High School in Illinois. AP  Law School Student: Bill Clinton and Hillary Rodham pose for a snapshot at Yale Law School in 1972\. They married in 1975. Clinton Presidential Library  Mother: Clinton poses with her husband, Bill, then in his first term as governor, with their week-old daughter, Chelsea, on March 5, 1980. Donald R. Broyles—AP  Campaign Companion: Clinton celebrates her husband's victory in a Democratic runoff in Little Rock, Ark. on June 8, 1982. AP  Arkansas First Lady: Clinton is seen in her inaugural ball gown in 1985. A. Lynn—AP  Political Wife: Clinton celebrates her husband's inauguration in Little Rock on Sept. 20, 1991. Danny Johnston—AP  Dignitary: Clinton receives an honorary law degree from Hendrix College in Conway, Ark., on May 30, 1992. Chris Ocken—AP  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a meeting during the presidential campaign for her husband in Buffalo, N.Y., on April 4, 1992. Bill Sikes—AP  First Lady: Clinton appears at the MTV Inauguration Ball at the Washington Convention Center on Jan. 20, 1993. Shayna Brennan—AP  Second-Term First Lady: Clinton attends the Inaugural Ball after her husband was sworn in to a second term on Jan. 20, 1997. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  New York Senator: Clinton speaks at a press conference with female Democratic senators in Washington on June 21, 2006. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Committee Member: Clinton listens to the testimony of Lt. General David Petraeus to the Senate Armed Forces Committee at a hearing on Capital Hill in Washington on Jan. 23, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Candidate: Clinton holds a a campaign event in Portsmouth, N.H., while running for the Democratic presidential nomination on Sept. 2, 2007. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Campaigner: Clinton speaks at a campaign stop in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Jan. 2, 2008. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Secretary of State: Clinton kisses President Obama at a joint session of Congress in Washington on Feb. 24, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton joins Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Admiral Michael Mullen and Secretary of Defense Robert Gates before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dec. 3, 2009. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Witness: Clinton testifies before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the deadly attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Jan. 23, 2013. J. Scott Applewhite—AP  Author: Clinton attends a signing memoir, "Hard Choices," at a Costco in Arlington, Va., on June 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis  Grandmother: Clinton holds her granddaughter Charlotte Clinton Mezvinsky at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City on Sept. 27, 2014. Office of President Clinton/AP  Once and Future Candidate: Clinton speaks at Iowa Senator Tom Harkin's annual Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa, on Sept. 14, 2014. Brooks Kraft—Corbis [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ## Transcript You know, I'm not sittin' here some little woman standing here by my man like Tammy Wynette. I'm sittin' here because I love him, and I respect him. Now is our chance to beat the historical odds, and give the American people the health security they need. If there is one message that echoes forth from this. Let it be that human rights are women's rights and women's rights are human rights once and for all. The great story here for anybody willing to find it and write about it and explain it is this vast right- wing conspiracy that has been conspiring. Against my husband since the day he announced for president. I would be happy to, when you give me the signed letters. Well, right here. Right here. When you give me. Right here. Sign it right now. We'll shake. We'll shake on this, Ray. No, no, I want your signature, cause I think that everybody wants to see you signing something that you said you were for. You know, I have so many opportunities from this country. I just don't wanna see us fall backwards. Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it. The battle to stop Al Qaeda and its affiliates. Does not end with one death. What difference, at this point, does it make? It is our job to figure out what happened and do everything we can to prevent it from ever happening again, Senator. I took the unprecedented step of asking that the state department make all my work- related emails, [ MUSIC ] Public for everyone to see. 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