Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb became the first person from either major party to officially launch a presidential exploratory committee to consider running for president in 2016 . Webb announced the exploratory committee Wednesday in a 14-minute online video in which he touts his military background and explains his motivations for considering a White House bid . Webb , a Democrat , would seek the Democratic nomination for President , likely facing off against former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton , who is widely expected to announce her candidacy in the coming months . `` We desperately need to fix our country and to reinforce the values that have sustained us for more than two centuries , many of which have fallen by the wayside in the nasty debates of the last several years , '' Webb explains in the video . Webb , a Marine Corps veteran who fought in Vietnam , served one term as a Democratic senator from Virginia , but also served in Republican President Ronald Reagan 's administration as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs before becoming Secretary of the Navy . Webb stresses in his announcement that he is `` not a career politician '' though he has `` proudly spent several periods in government . '' Webb spends much of the video discussing his and his family 's military background . His father served 26 years in the Air Force and he , his brother and his son all joined the Marine Corps . `` I fought on one of the Vietnam War 's harshest battlefields , '' Webb says in the video . Webb also taps into the public 's frustration with `` divisive , paralyzed nature of our government '' and hits on popular Democratic themes like poverty and income inequality , signaling that the Democratic Party needs to head in a new direction to help the poor . `` The Democratic Party used to be the place where people like these could come not for a handout but for an honest handshake , good full-time jobs , quality education , health care they can afford , and the vital , overriding belief that we 're all in this together and the system is not rigged , '' Webb says . `` We can get there again . '' Launching an exploratory committee is the first step candidates take before formally announcing their candidacy for president and allows them to begin raising funds for an eventual campaign . Webb also seems mindful that he would be an underdog heading into Democratic primaries -- especially if Clinton decides to run -- but notes that he won his Senate seat in Virginia despite having `` no money and no staff '' when he announced his candidacy and being `` more than 30 points behind in the polls . ''
Webb announced he is forming an exploratory committee in a 14-minute video . Webb would likely face off against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination . Webb touts his military service and insists he is `` not a career politician '' in the video . Launching an exploratory committee allows the candidates to begin fundraising .