New York democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced her plans for a 2020 presidential run during an appearance on late-night television. She told CBS host Stephen Colbert that nothing would be accomplished without taking on “the systems of power,” including “institutional racism” and corruption in Washington.
– I’m going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I’m going to fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own, – she said.
The senator spent so little during the midterms that she was left with a $10.7 million war chest, The New York Times recently reported. She’s also veered to the left in the past two years, latching onto national causes that energize the Democratic base and mobilize voters.
She is expected to set up her headquarters in Troy, New York, where she lives with her husband and two sons. The established Democrat reportedly has key staffers on board and released a campaign ad on Tuesday night.
The 2018 midterms demonstrated the appetite among Democratic voters to elevate women into power, and Ms. Gillibrand is expected to make her advocacy for women’s causes and candidacies a key part of her campaign. For years, she has raised money for women seeking office through her Off the Sidelines PAC, which shares a name with her memoir. That work has helped her develop a national network of female donors for 2020.
