Sen. Debbie Ingram (D-Chittenden) kicked off her bid for lieutenant governor Friday with a short campaign ad highlighting her vision for the state's No. 2 office.

Ingram, who announced her candidacy back in January, has spent the last three months in the Senate focused on crafting legislation related to the coronavirus pandemic. Her campaign launch came on the same day that the legislature was working to adjourn for the session; lawmakers would return to work in late August to craft a budget.

The break will give lawmakers running for office a chance to finally shift their focus to the campaign trail ahead of the August 11 primary.

"I am running for lieutenant governor to give a fair chance to every Vermonter," Ingram said in the video, standing before the College Street Congregational Church in downtown Burlington, where she is a member.

Ingram, of Williston, is an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and the executive director of Vermont Interfaith Action. She was first elected to the Senate in 2016 and previously served on her town’s selectboard.

She now finds herself in a four-way primary for the Democratic nomination alongside assistant attorney general Molly Gray, Senate President Pro Tempore Tim Ashe (D/P-Chittenden) and Brenda Siegel, a 2018 gubernatorial candidate and longtime policy advocate.

In her launch video, Ingram highlighted three key issues that she would champion if elected: affordable housing, health care and "economic dignity."

"Social justice and racial justice will be a cornerstone of my campaign," she said.

The video features several supporter testimonials, including one from Mark Hughes, the cofounder and executive director of Justice for All, a Burlington-based criminal justice reform organization, and the coordinator of the Vermont Racial Justice Alliance, a people-of-color led group that seeks to dismantle systemic racism.

Justice for All endorsed Ingram earlier this month, citing a legislative track record that includes leading the push to change Columbus Day to Indigenous People's Day, as well as the ongoing effort to clarify the prohibition of slavery in the Vermont constitution.

"There is no other person in this state that I could endorse right now with the challenges that we have," Hughes said in the video.

Disclosure: Tim Ashe is the domestic partner of Seven Days publisher and coeditor Paula Routly. Find our conflict-of-interest policy here: sevendaysvt.com/disclosure.