Gillibrand emphasizes working-mom role
WASHINGTON — Kirsten Gillibrand had a flurry of pots on the stove and steak, haddock, peas, steamed vegetables and rice on the menu.
She had a cable news appearance coming up in a few hours, but for now, her 10-year-old son entertained the family goldendoodle, Maple, a few feet away.
The New York senator was game to talk about motherhood, leadership, her policies and her pursuit of the nation’s highest office, she told a reporter. But first she needed to save dinner.
“I need to focus, because I’m about to burn the fish,” she said. “I’ve reached my point of capacity.”
As she cranks up her presidential campaign, Gillibrand isn’t trying to hide her workingmom juggle — she’s running on it. More than any other contender in a field crowded with women, the mom of two is using her dual roles of mother and candidate to pitch herself to Democratic voters.
She opens her standard campaign speech pledging to “fight for your children as hard as I would fight for my own.” She’s floated the idea of making an RV trip through Iowa this summer, to be able to prepare meals for her family while she travels to meet supporters. And on a recent Tuesday evening, she even invited a reporter into her Capitol Hill home for dinner with her family.
It’s all a far cry from the notso-distant past, where being a mother of young children was viewed as much as a complication as an asset in politics.
“There was a time when a mom with young children absolutely couldn’t run for an executive office. People wondered who would come first, the kids or us,” said Celinda Lake, a Democratic pollster. “But things have really changed. For Gillibrand, it’s not just that ‘I’m a mom.’ It’s a metaphor. It’s a way of talking about the future, a way of talking about her orientation.”
Gillibrand isn’t the only Democratic candidate whose campaign has reflected this shift in attitude. In her campaign launch speech, Elizabeth Warren talked about pottytraining her now-grown daughter. Amy Klobuchar often tells the story of the text message her adult daughter sent her the night that Trump was elected, seeking reassurance. Kamala Harris wrote in her recent memoir that her step-children affectionately refer to her as ‘Momala.’
But none in the group is going as far as Gillibrand to highlight her role as caregiver. She often tells voters in early states how, when she looks at issues like immigration, she imagines what it would be like if her own family were separated. She campaigns on her support of policies like a national paid leave program, universal pre-K and more accessible, affordable child care.
The strategy is a clear appeal to young, working women with families, a coveted and energized part of the Democratic coalition. Female voters helped drive victories that led Democrats to reclaim control of the House last year, responding to candidates who talked openly about daily struggles and parenthood.
There is “overwhelming evidence from the midterms that being yourself and talking to voters about your genuine concerns about the future of our country, and our children, is a major asset,” said Gillibrand spokeswoman Meredith Kelly.
In her home on Capitol Hill, Gillibrand talked about how she hoped to balance the demands of a campaign and parenting 10-year-old Henry and 15-yearold Theo. Her husband, Jonathan, a business consultant, is taking time off to support her campaign. Jonathan and Henry made their campaign debut on Friday. Theo, who attends boarding school, did not go.
Gillibrand said she thinks voters see motherhood as a clear strength. “I think the country recognizes that a mother will go through fire for her children,” she said. “It’s the story of our country, it’s the story of women, it’s the story of who we are.”