Kirstin Gillibrand's support has, in my opinion, greatly solidified recently. And, I think, the number one reason was the political posturing of one Harold Ford, jr.
In the end I think Ford is doing Gillibrand a favor. Were I of the mind to believe in conspiracy theories (which I am NOT...9/11 WAS done by al-Qaeda and JFK WAS shot by Oswald...) I might hypothesize that Gillibrand put Ford up to it. Of course that isn't how politics works, but even if he isn't doing this to bolster her support, the ultimate effect will be to strengthen Gillibrand's support.
I have overall liked Gillibrand. Her successful run for Congress was a huge victory in NY State for Democrats. And, when she was in Congress, she seemed to do a good job of representing her district, which is one of the more conservative districts in NY State.
The difficult choice for a replacement for Hillary Clinton once she became Secretary of State somewhat damaged Gillibrand's support. Personally I thought Caroline Kennedy (strongly backed by the likes of mayor Moneybags Bloomberg, who also seems to be supporting Harold Ford) came off way too arrogant when she acted as if it was her divine right to become Senator. She may well have been a good Senator, but she had no claim to the position. I am not sure Governor Paterson could have done things that much better given the arrogance of Caroline Kennedy and her supporters, though probably a better Governor could have done it better. I would have personally preferred Jerrold Nadler. Watching him and Al Franken team up against some of those Republican thugs would have been sweet. But I knew that was a long shot. I also liked the idea of Nydia Velasquez filling Hillary's spot, but having two Brooklynites does seem a bit disrespectful to the rest of the state.
In the end, Gillibrand struck me as a reasonable choice, though, like most progressives, I feared her more conservative positions. However, she made it clear from the start that she considered representing the entire state as something very different than representing her one, pretty conservative district. And overall I have liked the stands she takes and I liked the leadership role she took in opposing the despicable Stupak-Pitts amendment.
But Gillibrand, by and large, draws her support from the middle of the party with both the liberal and conservative ends of the party eying here with more suspicion. I know many liberals who were lukewarm about her or outright opposed to her. And, of course, Caroline Kennedy supporters and Michael Bloomberg seem to hold a grudge against her for her being so uppity as to put herself up for a spot a Kennedy wanted. This, plus her relative inexperience in the Senate, made her pretty vulnerable.
Then comes Harold Ford, jr. Within days of his hinting he would run against Gillibrand, many progressives I know who were lukewarm about her suddenly like her a lot better. Progressives are now far more willing to unite with moderates to support Gillibrand now that they have considered that they could get someone as inappropriate as Harold Ford, jr. Harold Ford's devastating interview with the NY Times, wherein he comes close to pulling a Palin by claiming he has been to Staten Island because he once landed in a helicopter there (does that mean I have been to Germany because I had a stop over at the Frankfort airport?), has further shown progressives and moderates that Gillibrand really is pretty good as a Senator.
Some are saying Harold Ford, jr. will not be able to match Gillibrand in fundraising, further hurting his chances. Gillibrand is an excellent fundraiser and has some pretty influential people behind her. In fact the mainstream of the party. But if Bloomberg wants to back Ford, he can bring some big money to bear for his pet carpetbagger. And what will the Kennedy family do? I strongly suspect that Ted Kennedy would have intervened and supported Gillibrand, stopping Caroline's revenge moves. But without Ted's sanity, it is possible that some Kennedys will back Ford. However, it is also perfectly possible that both Bloomberg and the Kennedys will see that Ford is very unlikely to win and will back off. Either way, I really think Gillibrand will be helped rather than hurt by Ford's interest in running and, in fact, it might be best for her if he mounts, at least for awhile, a reasonable challenge. Personally I'd prefer Nadler or Velasquez to Gillibrand, but there is no question that Harold Ford, jr. is making Gillibrand look good and is solidifying her support in ways she could not have done alone.