As a reminder, this diary is part of a series meant to introduce announced, and expected to announce first time presidential candidates for the 2020 Democratic nomination. In the next few days look for diaries on Cory Booker, and Julian Castro. Other possible candidates will highlighted in diaries in the upcoming weeks.
Speaking only for myself, I do not have a favorite, and don’t expect to choose a favorite until much later this year at the earliest. I am excited about all of our candidates so far, and glad that we have so many good people running to represent our party.
This past Wednesday, surprising no one, Kirsten Gillibrand announced that she was forming an Exploratory Committee to consider a run for President, saying,
I know I have the compassion, the courage, and the fearless determination to get that done.
In the quote above “that” refers to taking on institutional racism, corruption in Washington D.C., and special interests.
You can see her announcement in this YouTube clip. ,
Gillibrand first entered elected office in 2006 when she ran for the US House of Representatives and beat her republican opponent in a 2-1 majority republican district. That’s an impressive start for a first time politician.
She is the junior Senator from the state of New York since being appointed by Governor Paterson to fill the seat left vacant by Sen. Hillary Clinton’s departure to lead the State Department. In her most recent election, in 2018, she received 67% of the vote.
According to her campaign website, 2020.kirstengillibrand.com,
In Congress, Kirsten wasted no time making her mark. She became the first member of Congress in history to post her official daily meetings, personal financial disclosures and earmark requests online for her constituents. The New York Times called it “a quiet touch of revolution.” Kirsten has continued this commitment to transparency in the Senate by posting her personal tax returns and by voluntarily filing her campaign finance reports electronically. Kirsten has also championed ethics reform and getting big, unaccountable money out of political campaigns. She wrote and secured the passage of the STOCK Act, which finally made it illegal for members of Congress, their families and their staff to profit from insider information gained through public service. At the time, The Washington Post called it the “most substantial debate on Congressional ethics in nearly five years.”
In addition to the STOCK Act, her other legislative successes include:
- The James Zagroda 9/11 Health and Compensation Act
- Repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy
- Safe Meat and Poultry Act
- Main Street Employee Ownership Act
Gillibrand has also been leading the charge for years that the military needs to do more to protect its members from sexual harassment and sexual assault. Her work on the problem includes co-sponsoring a bill that would remove the assault cases from the military chain of command. Ultimately the bill failed, but it’s a cause that’s very important to her, and one we can expect to see her continue to champion.
Outside of her legislative activities, in 2010 Sen. Gillibrand, concerned by the decrease in the number of elected women in Congress, founded Off the Sidelines. It’s an organization whose purpose is,
a call to action to encourage women and girls to make their voices heard on the issues they care about. Since its inception, Off the Sidelines has recruited, mentored and supported dozens of women candidates for higher office and helped elect some of the Democratic Party’s brightest rising stars.
kirstengillibrand.com/...
What to know more, besides what her website or Wikipedia can tell you? I found this Vogue article from 2017 to be enlightening, and helpful in understanding who she is in a deeper way. www.vogue.com/…
Like many of the announced and expected to announce candidates, Gillibrand is smart and well educated. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Dartmouth, majoring in Asian Studies, and holds a law degree from UCLA.
There have already been grumblings from Democrats about her candidacy, and we can expect those to last at least through debates later this year, and early next year.
One of the complaints about her is that she was instrumental in Sen. Franken resigning last year. Whether you agree with his resignation or not, Sen. Franken made an adult decision to resign, and Sen. Gillibrand is not responsible for his actions, period. Her prior leadership on this issue resonates with me, and I would not have expected anything different from her.
Others see her as too conservative on certain issues, like gun control and immigration. While serving in the House of Representatives, she was part of the Blue Dogs, who considered themselves fiscally conservative. She has addressed her political evolution, but with a big field it will likely keep coming up as others try to differentiate themselves from the pact.
For prior diaries in this series, click on the links below:
New Candidates Spotlight 2020 edition, the list
Sen. Kamala Harris
Mayor Pete Buttigieg