Allison Stephens, who is one of 13 regents for the Nevada System of Higher Education, is officially running for Congress as a Democrat after weeks of testing the waters.

Stephens posted a slick video campaign announcement on her Twitter account on Monday morning, saying she's running for the 4th Congressional District seat to take "real life to Washington."

The video features her two children and scenes from the district, including Craig Ranch Regional Park in North Las Vegas. She said one motivation for stepping forward in her public service career is to set an example for her 11-year-old daughter.

Stephens said she approaches issues of child care from the perspective of a single mother, approaches disability rights as a person whose son and sister have disabilities and approaches veterans issues as the daughter of a veteran. Her perspective on abortion rights is informed by her experience as a woman who almost died in childbirth, she said.

In addition to her work as a regent, Stephens is one of two Democratic National Committee members from Nevada.

The Democratic primary for the open seat is already crowded — former Rep. Steven Horsford, state Sen. Patricia Spearman, Medicare-for-All advocate Amy Vilela and high school principal John Anzalone have thrown their hats in the ring, just to name a few.

North Las Vegas Mayor John Lee and incumbent Rep. Ruben Kihuen — who had previously said he wasn't running for reelection because he's faced allegations of sexual harassment — may also jump into the race during the final week of candidate filing.

Nevadans are tired of Washington talking points. Our community needs someone who is ready to take real life to Washington. That's why I'm running for Congress.

We can't do this without you. Run with me at https://t.co/6mkchXXnqO pic.twitter.com/Ll3UWgiZXx

— Allison Stephens (@Allison4Nevada) March 12, 2018