Elizabeth Warren prepares for 2020 presidential run by launching an exploratory committee

It's official: Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass) is getting ready to run for president.

Warren on Monday announced she is forming an exploratory committee, the first step in a presidential run. Warren said in a video message that "America's middle class is under attack" and that the U.S. government has become "a tool for the wealthy and well-connected." She says that "this dark path" the U.S. is on "doesn't have to be our future," pledging to rebuild the middle class and "build it for everyone."

"The American people deserve a real debate about how to level the playing field for working families and who is best to lead that fight," the Democratic senator added in an email to supporters, per NBC News' Mike Memoli.

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Warren is the first major Democrat to make this move toward a likely presidential run. Most early Democratic polls have shown her trailing possible 2020 contenders such as former Vice President Joe Biden. Watch Warren's video announcement below. Brendan Morrow