Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand jumps into 2020 presidential race
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand entered the growing field of 2020 Democratic presidential contenders Tuesday, telling television host Stephen Colbert that she’s launching an exploratory committee.
“It’s an important first step, and it’s one I am taking because I am going to run,” the New York senator said on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” She listed a series of issues that she would tackle as president, including better healthcare for families, stronger public schools, and more accessible job training.
Gillibrand, 52, has already made plans to campaign in Iowa this weekend, more than a year before the leadoff caucus state votes.
She joins what is expected to be a crowded Democratic primary field that could feature more than a dozen candidates. Already, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has announced her own exploratory efforts, and decisions by a number of other senators are expected in the coming weeks.
Gillibrand, who was appointed to the Senate in 2009 to fill the seat vacated by Hillary Clinton, has been among the Senate’s most vocal members on issues like sexual harassment, military sexual assault, equal pay for women and family leave, issues that could be central to her presidential campaign.
“I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own,” said Gillibrand, a mother of two sons, ages 10 and 15.
Gillibrand will be able to draw from the more than $10.5 million left over from her 2018 re-election campaign. Gillibrand pledged during her Senate campaign that she would serve out her six-year term if re-elected.
Near the end of their interview, Colbert presented Gillibrand with a basket of campaign gifts, including an ear of yellow corn to wave in Iowa, a piece of granite for New Hampshire, and a one-of-a-kind button that reads “I announced on the Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Also on Tuesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown said he is launching a tour of three states that cast pivotal early votes in the 2020 presidential primary.
The move from the Ohio Democrat is a key step before he decides whether to launch a campaign for the White House.