White House 2016: Hillary Clinton launches campaign to become first woman US president

Hillary Clinton has launched her campaign to become the first woman US president.

The former secretary of state also announced a tour of key states for her campaign.

Hillary Clinton is taking a road trip to meet small groups of voters in Iowa, having announced her bid for the Democratic presidential nomination on April 12.

She had been expected to declare her candidacy for months.

Hillary Clinton ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008 but lost to Barack Obama.

A few hours into her journey from New York to Iowa, Hillary Clinton tweeted: “Road trip! Loaded the van & set off for IA. Met a great family when we stopped this afternoon. Many more to come. -H.”

Her team said she would spend the next few weeks building up grassroots support in the early Democratic primary states.

Hillary Clinton’s first rally, to officially kick off her campaign, is not expected until mid-May. But her trip to Iowa is to be a “listening tour” where Hillary Clinton will meet voters at low-key events.

Later this week, Hillary Clinton is expected to meet groups of students, teachers and small business owners.

On April 12, Hillary Clinton launched her campaign website and declared in a video that she was running for president.

“Americans have fought their way back from tough economic times,” she said, “but the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top.

Hillary Clinton added that she wanted to be a champion for “everyday Americans”.

The video features a number of Americans talking about their hopes and aspirations.