A few days after filing to run for the Senate in Maryland, Chelsea Manning on Sunday released her first campaign ad on Twitter.
Manning, who will run against Sen. Ben Cardin in the June Democratic primary ahead of the November election, said in her ad that "We don't need more or better leaders, we need someone willing to fight."
She emphasized that "We need to challenge this at every level. We need to fix this. We don't need them anymore, we can do better."
Manning was released less than eight months ago from military prison for releasing confidential military and State Department documents, according to the Guardian.
She had been sentenced to 35 years, but former President Barack Obama commuted her sentence to seven years, The Hill reported.
Manning has been an activist for LGBTQ rights and other causes since her release and would be the first openly transgender member of Congress if elected to the Senate.
Her campaign ad begins with images of the white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, and protesters clashing with police while she says, "We live in trying times. Times of fear, of suppression, hate."
After dismissing the current leadership, she stressed, "We need to stop expecting that our systems will somehow fix themselves. We need to actually take the reins of power from them."
She also tweeted a link for campaign contributions.
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