A new Quinnipiac poll in New York finds Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who is running for president, with a lowly 29% approval rating in her home state.
Gillibrand Admits ‘Post-Investigation’ Errors
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand acknowledged that there were some “post-investigation human errors” when her Senate office investigated allegations of sexual misconduct against various staffers, the AP reports.
“Gillibrand, campaigning in Iowa for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, also confirmed that her deputy chief of staff, Anne Bradley, was resigning but said only that ‘the decision was her own.’ Bradley’s handling of a sexual harassment claim made by a female staffer against one of Gillibrand’s male aides came under fire after Politico reported the aide was kept on despite the allegation.”
Gillibrand Defends Calling on Franken to Resign
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) defended her call for former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to resign from the Senate in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations, saying that she “stood up for women who came forward,” The Hill reports.
Said Gillibrand: “If there are a few Democratic powerful donors who are angry because I stood up for women who came forward with allegations of sexual harassment, that’s on them.”
She added: “I had a choice to make whether to stay silent or not, whether to say ‘it’s not OK with me,’ and I decided to say that.”
Gillibrand Formally Announces Bid
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand “formally launched her presidential bid on Sunday morning, announcing she will deliver her first major speech next week in front of Trump International Hotel in New York City,” Reuters reports.
“Gillibrand, 52, had already been campaigning in key states that hold early primary contests. She has struggled to see her polling numbers increase in the wake of her initial announcement, a benefit some of her other opponents enjoyed after starting their campaigns. Gillibrand remains at 1 percent in most public opinion polls of the Democratic primary.”
Gillibrand Aide Resigned Over Handling of Harassment
“Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), one of the most outspoken advocates of the #MeToo movement who has made fighting sexual misconduct a centerpiece of her presidential campaign, spent last summer pressing legislators to update Congress’ ‘broken’ system of handling sexual harassment,” Politico reports.
“At the same time, a mid-20s female aide to Gillibrand resigned in protest over the handling of her sexual harassment complaint by Gillibrand’s office, and criticized the senator for failing to abide by her own public standards. In July, the female staffer alleged one of Gillibrand’s closest aides — who was a decade her senior and married — repeatedly made unwelcome advances after the senator had told him he would be promoted to a supervisory role over her. She also said the male aide regularly made crude, misogynistic remarks in the office about his female colleagues and potential female hires.”
Gillibrand Struggles to Win Endorsements
“Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is still searching for a first presidential endorsement from colleagues in New York’s delegation, leaving her the only senator running in 2020 without any home-state congressional backing. The New York Democrat, who is still in the exploratory phase of her presidential bid, is working behind the scenes to curry support among her colleagues,” Politico reports.
“Gillibrand is having lunch with House members — some for the first time — and hosting informal drinks with the state delegation next week. She’s made phone calls to them and asked others for help in shoring up endorsements. But, so far, no one has jumped on board.”
Gillibrand Plays Up Motherhood
Associated Press: “As she cranks up her presidential campaign, Gillibrand isn’t trying to hide her working-mom 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 vowing 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. During her first week as a candidate, she baked cookies with a voter, dismissing any complexity in the symbolism. And on a recent Tuesday evening, she even invited a reporter into her Capitol Hill home for dinner with her family.”
What Does Kirsten Gillibrand Stand For?
Washington Post: “Gillibrand overhauled her political identity during this period, abandoning the conservative positions that made her popular upstate and embracing or even moving further left than the liberal consensus on guns, immigration, Wall Street and same-sex marriage. As the Democratic Party itself moved left, she staked out positions popular with the party’s swelling base of liberals, a posture most evident when she called for abolishing the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. She has voted against President Trump’s agenda more than any other senator.”
“Gillibrand’s evolution seemed to reach its apex last week when she introduced herself as a candidate for president and a fighter for liberal values. But her shift in views from a decade ago is already raising questions among Democrats and provoking attacks from Republicans eager to define her as a flip-flopper.”
“Experts who have followed Gillibrand’s rise said the impression that she has hair-trigger judgment and an overriding instinct to capitalize on the political moment could prove more problematic than any one shift on policy.”
Gillibrand Defends Calling on Franken to Resign
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “defended her decision to call on former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) to resign after allegations of unwanted touching and kissing were made against him,” CNN reports.
Gillibrand said that she made the decision to help push him out because “my silence meant I was defending him and carrying his water, which I was unwilling to do.”
She added: “Enough was enough. Al Franken is entitled to whatever process wanted, if he wanted to say and wait six months for his ethics hearing. His decision was to resign. My decision was not to remain silent.”
Gillibrand to Announce Presidential Bid Tonight
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is expected to enter the 2020 presidential race on Tuesday, launching an exploratory committee just days before she heads to the critical state of Iowa, CBS News reports.
She will make the announcement on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Gillibrand Confirms She’ll Run for President
“Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand on Saturday signaled to a group of about 20 influential women that she will run for president,” BuzzFeed News reports.
“Gillibrand made her intentions clear, said the source, who asked not to be identified to speak about the event. Gillibrand said that she needed their help if they would offer it to her. The closed-door gathering was attended by feminist Gloria Steinem.”
Gillibrand Staffs Up for Presidential Bid
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “has hired a communications director for an expected presidential campaign, a sign that she is all but certain to join the race against President Trump and that her entry may be imminent,” the New York Times reports.
“Ms. Gillibrand has recruited Meredith Kelly, formerly the top spokeswoman at the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, as a senior aide to her prospective 2020 campaign… Ms. Kelly was part of the team at the House committee that helped the party capture the majority in 2018, overseeing the group’s media strategy during the midterm elections.”
Gillibrand Eyes Upstate New York for Campaign Base
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) is looking at Troy, New York, as a potential base for a 2020 presidential bid, the AP reports.
“Gillibrand’s team eyeing Troy, which is 150 miles north of Manhattan, is the strongest signal yet that the New York senator will soon enter the presidential race.”
Gillibrand Lines Up Wall Street Support for 2020 Bid
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) “has personally been working the phones and calling senior executives at Wall Street firms in recent weeks to see whether they would back her campaign if she jumps into the race,” CNBC reports.
Franken Stays Silent as Gillibrand Faces Attacks
Former Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) “is staying silent in the face of attacks on his ex-colleague, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), who has been shunned by major Democratic donors and criticized heavily online after calling for Franken’s resignation last year in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations,” BuzzFeed News reports.
Franken Scandal Haunts Gillibrand’s 2020 Chances
Politico: “Today, nearly a year after Gillibrand led the charge in calling for Franken’s resignation, the anger is fresh on the minds of major donors across the country.”
“More than a dozen prominent West Coast, New York and national donors and bundlers — many of them women — said they would never again donate to or fundraise for Gillibrand or would only do so if she ended up as the Democratic presidential nominee.”
Gillibrand Sounds Like She’s Running for President
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) gave her strongest public indication yet that she was contemplating a run for president in 2020, telling the late-night show host Stephen Colbert she would “give it a long, hard thought of consideration,” the New York Times reports.
Said Gillibrand: “I’ve seen the hatred and the division that President Trump has put out into our country, and it has called me to fight as hard as I possibly can to restore the moral compass of this country.”
Gillibrand Rules Out Presidential Bid In 2020
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) vowed that she will not mount a challenge against President Trump in the next general election if she wins her midterm race next month, the New York Daily News reports.
Said Gillibrand: “I will serve my six-year term.”
