Update, August 28, 2019: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand officially dropped out of the presidential race in late August. She posted a video on Twitter, where she wrote, “Today, I am ending my campaign for president. I am so proud of this team and all we’ve accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve. To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let’s go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate.”
Original post, June 27, 2019: New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is one of several women to announce she’s running to be the Democratic candidate in the 2020 presidential election. And in true New York fashion, she shared the news for the first time on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert:
Originally hailing from Albany, New York, Gillibrand attended UCLA law school before working as an attorney and later joining the world of politics. Against the advice of many, in 2006, she decided to run for the House of Representatives in a Republican district in upstate New York; she ended up winning against a four-term incumbent, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in almost 30 years. In 2009, Gillibrand was appointed to a Senate seat after then-Senator Hillary Clinton become Secretary of State. At the time, she was the youngest member of the U.S. Senate.
In recent years, she’s gained recognition as an advocate for sexual assault survivors and being staunchly anti-Trump. (She’s voted against his Cabinet appointees more than any other senator.) Below, ELLE.com breaks down where Gillibrand stands on the nine issues voters cared about most going into the midterm elections.