U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic candidate for president, brought a populist message to Detroit on Tuesday, touting her "economic patriotism" plan to create jobs, promote industry and invest $2 trillion in environmental research and development over the next decade.

"We're going to develop the new technology here in the U.S. We're going to manufacture the technology here in the United States, and then we're going to sell it all around the world," she said.

The centerpiece of the senator from Massachusetts' plan is designed to achieve the goals of the Green New Deal, an ambitious agenda unveiled by several lawmakers in Congress to address climate change and economic inequality. Warren's plan calls for fighting climate change by investing in research as well as manufacturing products in the United States using environmentally friendly processes. The plan also calls for rewarding companies that use those green technologies and empowering workers by raising the minimum wage and making union membership a given, rather than a fight.

She shared her story of growing up as the youngest of four children, whose father had to stop working after a heart attack and whose mother took a full-time, minimum-wage job at Sears to keep the family afloat.

"Today a full-time, minimum-wage job will not keep a mom and a baby out of poverty and that’s wrong," she said.

It's that upbringing that pushed Warren to get a scholarship for college and later become a special needs teacher, get a law degree, run for the U.S. Senate and now become one of the front-runners for president.

"Every chance I get, I'm going to say to a little girl, 'Hello, I'm Elizabeth and I'm running for president because that's what girls do,' " she said.

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Warren's 'economic patriotism' plan

Warren’s appearance before about 500 people at the nonprofit Focus: HOPE in Detroit, her first since announcing her run for the White House, came on the same day that she released her "economic patriotism” plan. The specifics of the plan include:

A $400 billion investment in clean energy research that’s done in the United States;

A $1.5 trillion commitment to federal procurement of clean, green, American-made products over the next 10 years;

A requirement that companies that receive federal contracts pay their employees at least $15 per hour, guarantee 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave and allow employees to join unions and collectively bargain.

A $100 billion fund to assist other countries in buying American-made green technology and products.

"We have a climate crisis in this country that is a threat and we need to be all in to fight this climate crisis," she said. "What is it going to take to save our planet? A whole lot of new science, a whole lot of R&D and a whole lot of technological manufacturing. My plan is let’s do all of that."

The plan would be paid for by ending tax incentives and subsidies for oil and gas companies and closing loopholes that reward U.S. companies from shipping jobs overseas. She also proposed a 2-cent tax on every dollar over $50 million that the wealthiest earn. That would pay for universal child care, pre-K, two years of community college or trade school and four years of university for every child in America, she said.

Inslee tours Detroit, too

She wasn't the only Democratic presidential candidate in Michigan on Tuesday.

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was also in Detroit on his "Climate Mission Tour," doing a walk-through of the neighborhood adjacent to the Marathon Oil refinery in southwest Detroit.

"I'm in Detroit to see the impact the fossil fuel industry, particularly the oil and gas industry, cause the residents of this area with fumes, with water contamination, fumes coming into their houses," Inslee said.

He touted his plan to create 100% clean electricity, 100% zero-emission new vehicles and 100% zero-carbon new buildings.

"We want to get our kids into a healthy situation, so they have cleaner energy and less asthma," he said.

Theresa Landrum, a lifelong southwest Detroit resident and an activist on environmental issues in the community, took Inslee on a tour of the neighborhoods around the Marathon refinery and the AK Steel plant. She said she hasn't made up her mind on a presidential candidates yet, but likes what she is hearing from Inslee.

"What I’ve researched and saw on his platform, he’s talking about a just transition, and the reduction of the carbon imprint into impacted communities," she said. "I like that because we’re an impacted community. We’re a vulnerable community. Those are the things we need to hear. Those are the things our children need to hear, our future. We want longevity. We want to survive. We don’t want a community continuing to grow in blight and die out."

Inslee later Tuesday was scheduled to participate in an environmental justice round-table discussion sponsored by the nonprofit We The People Detroit, and later tour the north end of Detroit to discuss issues with access to clean, affordable water.

Support for Warren — and Bernie, too

Benjamin Fraser of Detroit brought his 7-month old son Henry Fraser Gonzalez to the town hall forum at Focus: HOPE. He was a supporter of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign in 2016, but has switched to Warren.

"If Elizabeth Warren doesn't end up president, it's kind of an indictment against the country," he said. "But there are a variety of Democrats I would be perfectly content with, but just not as ecstatic as if Warren was elected."

His mother ,Kelly Vallevand, 58, of Detroit is still feeling the Bern because of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders' understanding of the need for universal health care.

"He's just been a community organizer and an advocate for the people for so many decades that you can't do anything but respect him," she said. "I love Elizabeth Warren, too, but I also love how educated he is with regards to health care reform."

Michigan continues to draw the candidates

With Michigan's presidential primary election 10 months away, the state continues to be a magnet for candidates hoping to become the next president of the United States. At least a dozen Democratic candidates have made stops in Michigan, which had the closest vote margin in the 2016 election. Donald Trump won the Michigan presidential sweepstakes by a mere 10,704 votes, the first Republican to win the state since 1988.

Michigan was one of three Midwest states — Pennsylvania and Wisconsin being the others — to flip from blue to red in 2016 by miniscule margins, giving Trump his electoral victory.

Both Trump and Vice President Mike Pence also have been back to the state in recent months as they gear up for their re-election campaign. Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna Romney McDaniel, a Michigan native, also will be back in Michigan next week, speaking to the Detroit Economic Club on Monday.

While Jeff Kingzett, a financial planner from Pontiac, hasn't landed on a preferred candidate yet, there was one thing for sure as he waited for Warren to begin her event

"I haven't seen a Democratic candidate for president who would make me vote for Trump," he said.

Warren acknowledged the importance of Michigan in the 2020 election cycle, noting, "I'm running to be president for all of America and that's why I'm reaching out to all parts of America. Michigan is where working people have been on the front lines for decades and that's why I wanted to come here to talk about a plan to put 1.2 million good jobs back in this economy."

Contact Kathleen Gray: 313-223-4430, kgray99@freepress.com or on Twitter @michpoligal.