DEFEAT LOOMS FOR ‘MIA’ GILLY
She’s the incredible shrinking senator.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has become so “invisible” that she could easily lose a primary challenge to lefty Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of her ex-staffers and other observers say.
“There are any number of state lawmakers, local officials and members of the delegation, including AOC, who could mount a very, very credible challenge and quite likely beat her,” the ex-staffer said, adding that the Democratic senator and former presidential candidate from New York seemed “bored” in the Senate and was MIA statewide.
“It wouldn’t at all surprise me if there were truth to the rumors that she’s not planning to run but instead is on the lookout for an administration position or a cushy private-sector job.”
Longtime city Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf also gave Ocasio-Cortez (D-Bronx/Queens) good odds against the senator.
“AOC can beat Kirsten Gillibrand. AOC will raise the money. She can beat her because Kirsten Gillibrand is the invisible senator. She has done very little to cement that incumbency, and the electorate is angry, and she has done nothing to address the issues that matter, which are COVID, crime and job loss in New York state,” he said.
One Democratic state senator contrasted her with her highly visible senior colleague, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I see Schumer all the time. I never see Gillibrand. I don’t know why New York only has one senator,” the state lawmaker sniffed.
Out at home
Even Gillibrand’s residency is invisible.
She sold her five-bedroom home in upstate Brunswick in 2020. She is registered to vote at an Albany address owned by her mother. A DC townhouse the family owned was sold this month for $2 million.
Evan Lukaske, a spokesman for Gillibrand, said his boss was “continuing to look for a new home.”
“The senator rents an apartment in DC and lives in Albany when in New York,” Lukaske said.
Gillibrand’s legislating is also imperceptible.
The nonpartisan Center for Effective Lawmaking found Gillibrand, 55, to be among the least effective senators of the previous Congress, ranking her 39th out of 45 Democrats, with not a single “substantive” bill she proposed becoming law.
In the last Congress, she missed more than 15% of votes — the ninthworst record of her colleagues, according to GovTrack. Schumer missed fewer than 1%.
A public schedule for Gillibrand shows she held a COVID-19 press conference with Rep. Carolyn Maloney last month. Many other days record “no official business.”
Off the power list
Gillibrand didn’t make Crain’s 2021 list of the 50 most powerful women in New York, which included state Attorney General Letitia James, thenNew York City First Lady Chirlane McCray and TV host Amber Ruffin.
The senator has lately preoccupied her office with studying UFOs.
Gillibrand assumed her Senate seat in 2009, when she was tapped by then-Gov. David Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton, who was leaving to serve as secretary of state. Gillibrand won a special election in 2010 to keep the seat and was reelected in 2012 and 2018.
‘Totally checked out’
Some observers cited her 2020 presidential campaign as a turning point. The effort ended with friends and aides begging her to drop out. By the end, she was hawking her own merchandise for pennies to raise enough cash to qualify for the debates.
“Since the presidential campaign, she is totally checked out. She seems less engaged in policymaking and completely MIA from the political scene,” said one top Democratic consultant in New York. “Prior to the presidential race, you couldn’t turn on your TV without seeing her, and now it’s like you haven’t heard a peep out of her.”
Team Gillibrand dismissed allegations that she had disengaged as “fanciful BS.”
“Senator Gillibrand loves serving the people of New York and looks forward to running for re-election,” said Lukaske, her spokesman. “Senator Gillibrand had a net favorable rating of +39 among Democratic primary voters in a September Siena Poll and will close the year with nearly $3 million cash on hand three years out from her next election.
“Senator Gillibrand has no interest in an administration job or the private sector; anyone who claims otherwise clearly has zero relationship with her, nor any insight into her thinking.”
Although Gillibrand made headlines for her leadership on issues such as sexual assault in the military, many remember her for leading the charge against Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) before he resigned amid allegations of sexual misconduct.
Seven current and former senators who had pressured Franken to quit later told The New Yorker that they regretted how it went down.
Ocasio-Cortez, meanwhile, has set the political world ablaze with speculation that she might challenge Schumer or Gillibrand, who face primaries in 2022 and 2024, respectively.