Chelsea Manning confirms campaign for U.S. Senate

NORTH BETHESDA, MD. — Chelsea Manning confirmed via Twitter on Sunday that she is a candidate for the U.S. Senate.

Three days after making her intention known to federal election officials, Manning tweeted “yup, we’re running for senate” with an attached campaign video indicating her intention to run in the 2018 Maryland Democratic primary.

She sent a subsequent tweet seeking donations to her campaign.

The 30-year-old Manning filed her statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on Thursday.

Known as Bradley Manning at the time of her 2010 arrest, the former U.S. army intelligence analyst was convicted of leaking classified documents to the antisecrecy website WikiLeaks.

Manning came out as transgender after being sentenced to 35 years in prison.

President Barack Obama granted Manning clemency before leaving office last year.

She is running as a Democrat and will likely challenge twoterm Sen. Ben Cardin in the primary.

Her 71-second campaign video weaves together images of white supremacists holding tiki torches in Charlottesville, Va., as well as protesters clashing with police elsewhere.

“We live in trying times. Times of fear. Of suppression. Of hate,” Manning said.

The montage shifts to the U.S. Capitol and President Donald Trump sitting with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both Democrats.

“We don’t need more or better leaders,” Manning continued. “We need someone willing to fight. We need to stop asking them to give us our rights. They won’t support us. They won’t compromise.”

The video also shows Manning holding a rose and ends with her saying, “You’re damn right we got this.”

When Manning was released from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in May, she told the AP in an email that she was eager to define her future — but made no mention of politics.