DETROIT, MI -- Democratic presidential hopeful Elizabeth Warren wants Detroit’s manufacturing base to lead a new green technology economy.

The Democratic senator from Massachusetts unveiled her $2 trillion plan to build clean energy industry and craft economic policies that put American workers first during a Tuesday town hall in Detroit. Roughly 500 enthusiastic supporters and undecided voters gathered in the workforce development wing of a Detroit human rights nonprofit to hear Warren’s message for Michigan.

“Michigan is where working people have bee 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 into this economy,” Warren said.

Warren opened the town hall by highlighting how decades of corruption in Washington D.C. is the source of many problems in America. Every part of the policy-making process is touched by money, she said.

Business interests seeping into Congress helped erode the middle class in favor or multinational corporations with no allegiance to American workers, Warren said. It’s also caused pollution to run rampant in communities in the shadow of industry, she said.

Meanwhile, Warren said the American democratic process is under threat from the influx of money in elections, partisan gerrymandering of political districts and voter suppression efforts. She supported a Constitutional amendment to protect the right of every citizen to vote.

“We need big structural change in this country," Warren said. “Small ideas won’t get it done. Let’s attack corruption head on.”

Warren proposed a wealth tax on the top 1% of richest Americans, a 2% annual tax on fortunes over $50 million, 3% tax on every dollar of net worth above $1 billion. She said the taxes are fair, considering building a fortune in part relies on public infrastructure.

The money would be used to pay for universal pre-Kindergarten childcare programs, she said.

“All it takes is a little courage, and a plan,” Warren said.

Warren said addressing climate change will bring economic benefits to industrial cities. She anticipates a $2 trillion investment in the next decade toward green energy research and manufacturing would create 1.2 million new jobs.

Part of the cost will be paid for by Warren’s proposed “real corporate profits tax” — a 7% surcharge on profits of more than $100 million earned by U.S. companies. The tax is expected to generate $1.05 trillion in revenues during the next decade.

Warren said the investment will help achieve some of the ambitious targets set by the "Green New Deal.” The Green New Deal is a nonbinding resolution introduced by U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., that pledges to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, boost investment in clean energy infrastructure, clean up contaminated sites and other goals.

Is a future without fossil fuels possible? Warren said it could be, with technological innovation.

“What is it going to take to save our climate? The answer is it’s going to take a whole lot of new science, a whole lot of R&D and technological manufacturing," Warren said. “My plan is: Let’s do that in the United States.”

Promises to revitalize Midwest cities hollowed out by outsourced manufacturing jobs are a central component of Democratic candidates’ messages and the main focus of President Donald Trump’s Michigan campaign. Warren said there’s no comparison between her “American workers first” message and the nationalist tone taken by Trump.

“My plan is a real plan to build American jobs,” Warren said. “My plan is not about how to help the biggest and most powerful corporations get even bigger and more powerful.”

The Massachusetts senator wasn’t the only candidate campaigning in Detroit Tuesday. Washington Gov. Jay Inslee toured polluted areas of the city and touted his climate change agenda as the most robust among the crowded Democratic field.

Former Vice President Joe Biden released his plan to address climate change and revitalize the economy Monday night. Warren said she did not have time to read his plan yet.

National polls conducted so far show Warren ranks third in support for voters, trailing U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Biden. A May poll of 600 voters by Vanguard Public Affairs and Denno Research found 9% of Michigan voters support Warren for president, trailing behind support for Biden (37%) Sanders (16%).

Michigan voted for Sanders in the 2016 Democratic primary. He and Warren share similar-sounding progressive messages, particularly on the influence of corporate money in Washington. Attendees at the Detroit event who voted for Sanders in 2016 said Warren is doing a better job winning their vote this time.

Susan Fecteau, a 61-year-old real estate agent from Ann Arbor, said Warren “has a plan for everything.” She said Warren takes a more academic and thoughtful approach than Sanders.

Though she would vote for the blue candidate regardless of who it is, Fecteau said she would be disappointed if the nomination went to Sanders or Biden.

“I love young white guys, it’s the old white guys I can’t stand,” Fecteau said.

Fecteau said Trump “hoodwinked” and “conned” the American people into thinking he is fighting for the middle class. She said Warren is the first candidate she’s seen successfully tie economic hardships facing the middle class to corporate greed.

Carla Meier, a retired Troy resident, said she is undecided, but likes what Warren has to say. Her top campaign priorities are securing equal pay for women, environmental protections and improvement to education.

In a dig against Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, a Michigan native and reviled figure among progressive voters, Warren pledged to pick a public school teacher to lead the Department of Education.

Meier said she attended events for U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn. The large number of candidates is good for the Democratic Party, she said, and encourages more public engagement.

Meier doesn’t trust Sanders’ commitment to the Democratic Party, considering his status as an independent in Congress. The Democratic National Committee adopted rules for 2020 candidates to affirm that they are a Democrat, which Sanders signed.

Charles Blanchard, a priest at Christ the Good Shepherd in Berkley, said he’s looking for a candidate who can win in the general election and bring stability to the country. He’s hoping South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg joins Warren on the ticket as her vice president.

Warren said she will be tough on Trump in response to an audience question about how she would handle Trump’s behavior in a debate. The question alluded to the second presidential debate of 2016, where Trump loomed behind Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.

“You never back down from a bully," Warren said. “Teachers know you have to claim your space and you have to own it.”

Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox said Warren is out of touch with Michigan voters in a statement released before the campaign event in Detroit.

“In a last-ditch effort to save her struggling campaign, I find it laughable that the senator has decided to come and try to pitch radical policies that would cripple Michigan’s farming, manufacturing, and auto-industries," Cox said.

Tahira Ahmad, a 60-year-old Detroit resident, said Warren appealed to her after she supported the federal government issuing reparations to African Americans affected by slavery. Though the issue didn’t come up in Detroit, Ahmad said her community needs some relief to overcome generational poverty exacerbated by government antipathy.

“It was my ancestors, but we’re still feeling it today,” Ahmad said.

Warren pledged to build a grassroots coalition that can break through partisan gridlock in Congress.

“It’s about building that momentum, not just so that we win in November of 2020 but so we make real change,” she said.