Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand announced in Troy, New York Wednesday that she is running for U.S. president. </s> Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York on Sunday officially announced her 2020 candidacy for her party's presidential nomination in a video posted on the social networks titled "Brave Wins."

Gillibrand thus joins the ever-lengthening list of Democratic politicians who have announced their candidacies for the party's presidential nod and who will face off in the primaries. </s> Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York officially joined the 2020 presidential race on Sunday, declaring in an announcement video that America needs “a leader who makes big, bold, brave choices,” and that she is that leader.

There was little drama about whether Ms. Gillibrand would officially enter the presidential race ever since she had announced she was exploring a run in January on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.” She has spent the last two months traveling the country and raising money, in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, California and Texas.

The video announcement kicks off a busy week for Ms. Gillibrand that will culminate in what her campaign is billing as her first speech as a presidential candidate next Sunday in Manhattan, which she will deliver, pointedly, outside one of President Trump’s properties.

While some candidates have shied from making Mr. Trump a centerpiece of their campaigns, the location of the speech signals that Ms. Gillibrand has no such hesitation. She has voted against Mr. Trump’s nominees at a faster clip than any other senator — a talking point for her on the campaign trail. </s> New York: Democratic senator Kirsten Gillibrand took a major step toward announcing a 2020 presidential bid on Tuesday, saying she is launching an exploratory committee for a White House run.

"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 she'd tackle as president, including better health care for families, stronger public schools and more accessible job training.

Gillibrand, 52, has already made plans to campaign in Iowa over the weekend, more than a year before the leadoff caucus state votes.

She joins what is expected to be a crowded primary field for the Democratic nomination that could feature more than a dozen candidates. Already, Massachusetts senator Elizabeth Warren has announced her own exploratory efforts, and decisions by a number of other senators are expected in the coming weeks. </s> Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand held her first press conference this morning as a 2020 presidential candidate in her home state of New York. She announced Tuesday night that she is forming an exploratory committee to run for president, throwing her hat in the ring for the Democratic nomination in an appearance on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

"I have the passion and courage and fearless determination to get this done," she said during her announcement Wednesday morning. "I'm going to run for president of the United States because as a young mom, I will fight for your children, as my own health care should be right not a privilege."

Gillibrand is the second U.S. senator — and second female senator — to announce plans to begin the legal process of running for the Democratic presidential nomination. The 52-year-old is one of the most active and outspoken critics of President Trump and she earned acclaim from party activists when she began voting against all of the president's Cabinet and senior government nominees in early 2017.

She joins a Democratic presidential field that is beginning to take shape. Over the weekend, former Housing and Urban Development (HUD) secretary Julián Castro formally launched his presidential bid, while Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren launched an exploratory committee on New Year's Eve. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii said over the weekend she plans to form an exploratory committee in the coming days. Several other senators, current and former governors and mayors, and former Vice President Joe Biden are still mulling potential campaigns. </s> Becoming the fourth official Democrat candidate for a White House bid in 2020, Democrat Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced her intention to run for President.

Senator Gillibrand made the announcement in a rather goofy and awkward appearance on the Late Show with Steven Colbert. Senator wind-tester doesn’t stand a chance; no-one likes her, but it is a fun intellectual exercise to start putting the various candidate parallels together in the growing field of Democrats against the prior 2016 field of 17 Republicans.

Knowing it’s likely the ♦UniParty DNC is following a similar ♦UniParty RNC strategy, we can start to put the personal characteristics and political traits together and contrast them against 2016. Here’s the way it looks so far:
• Senator Ted Cruz was to 2016…. as Senator Elizabeth Warren is to 2020
• Senator Rand Paul was to 2016…. as Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is to 2020
• Senator Rick Santorum was to 2016…. as Senator Sherrod Brown is to 2020
• Governor Bobby Jindal was to 2016…. as Julian Castro is to 2020
• Governor Jim Gilmore was to 2016 as Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is to 2020

Once we get a few more names on the DNC side, we can start to have fun with the celebrity squares graphics: </s> On Sunday, March 17, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand officially announced that she is running for President of the United States in the upcoming 2020 election.

In an announcement posted to Twitter, the New York Democrat unveiled her official campaign video with the slogan “Brave Wins.” The two-minute clip outlines Gillibrand’s platform, along with explaining what she is fighting against. “Brave doesn’t pit people against each other,” she says as a voice-over while news footage depicting the Trump era plays on the screen. “Brave doesn’t put money over lives, brave doesn't spread hate, cloud truth, build a wall. That’s what fear does. We need to remember what it feels like to be brave.”

Her video goes on to address issues that are important to her: “We can definitely achieve universal healthcare. We can provide paid family leave for all, end gun violence, pass a Green New Deal, get money out of politics, and take back our democracy. None of this is impossible.”

Gillibrand’s campaign video also highlights her own accomplishments, including working on legislation to push back against sexual assault and harassment in the military. “I challenged Congress by making my meetings, finances, and taxes public so people could I see I was working for them,” she adds. “I took your lead. I chose brave, too. We need a leader who makes big, bold, brave choices. Someone who isn't afraid of progress. And that's why I’m running for president.”

In addition to her official run, Gillibrand announced an upcoming campaign event right at “President Trump’s doorstep.” On Sunday, March 24, the presidential candidate will hold a campaign kickoff rally right outside of Trump International Tower in New York City. According to Gillibrand’s website, attendees will hear from guest speakers and the senator herself, as she “lays out her vision for our country.”

Back in January, Gillibrand tweeted that she was preparing a presidential run, noting that her campaign will have one “core” mission: “restoring power to people.” In another tweet, the candidate added: “I believe this country needs a movement rooted in compassion and courage. We want an America defined by strength of character, not weakness of ego. We need to protect our basic rights and fight for better health care, education and jobs. And I believe I'm the woman for the job.”

Gillibrand came to the United States Senate in 2009 when she filled Hillary Clinton’s seat during Clinton’s tenure as Secretary of State, and was re-elected in 2018. Prior to becoming a U.S. senator, Gillibrand was a U.S. House representative.

Over the course of her career, Gillibrand has become more progressive in her views. In recent months, the senator has reflected upon her political history, and even once said she was “embarrassed” by her former stance on gun control. "After I got appointed, I went down to Brooklyn to meet with families who had suffered from gun violence in their communities,” Gillibrand said in a 60 Minutes interview in February 2018. "And you immediately experience the feeling that I couldn’t have been more wrong."

As she outlined in her campaign video, Gillibrand’s key issues in her fight for the White House include universal healthcare and paid family leave, “medicare-for-all,” gun reform, and fighting back against sexual harassment, assault, and discrimination. “I've been working for five years on trying to end sexual violence in the military,” Gillibrand said during her February 2018 60 Minutes interview. “I've been working on trying to clean up sexual assault on college campuses because too many universities shove this stuff under the rug. And I now am trying to clean up Congress.” </s> • Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced her widely-expected candidacy for the presidency on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday.
• Asked why she was running, Gillibrand, a mother of two sons, said she would “fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own.”
• Gillibrand joins a number of other popular Democrats who have made their own announcements ahead of the 2020 US presidential election

Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand announced her candidacy for the US presidency on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” on Tuesday, a widely-expected political move amid similar announcements from other Democrats in recent days.

“So, I’m just curious,” “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, asked Gillibrand. “Do you have anything you would like to announce?”

“And what would that be, madam,” Colbert asked.

“I’m filing an exploratory committee for president of the United States tonight,” Gillibrand said, amid cheers from the crowd.

Asked why she was running, Gillibrand, a mother of two sons, said she would “fight for other people’s kids as hard as I would fight for my own.”

Read more: New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is set to announce she’s running for president in 2020, according to reports

Gillibrand listed off a number of broad political issues she would take on as president, including healthcare reform and improving public schools, and added that all of her suggestions would be impossible to achieve “if you don’t take on the systems of power.”

“It’s taking on the corruption and greed in Washington,” Gillibrand said. “Taking on the special interests that write legislation in the dead of night. And I know that I have the compassion, the courage, and the fearless determination to get that done.”

Gillibrand joins a number of other popular Democrats who have made their own announcements ahead of the 2020 US presidential election. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, and former Housing and Urban Development secretary Julián Castro all announced they would be running.

Last week, Democratic Sen. Kamala Harris of California appeared on the show and gave a strong hint she, too, would be running for president.

You can watch Sen. Gillibrand’s announcement here » </s> New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand officially announces she will seek the Democratic party’s nomination for the 2020 presidential election, taking aim at Donald Trump as she formally joined the crowded field of challengers.

In a video released earlier today, she says the American national anthem poses the question: “Will brave win?”

“Well, it hasn’t always, and it isn’t right now,” she says. “Brave doesn’t pit people against each other. Brave doesn’t put money over lives. Brave doesn’t spread hate. Cloud truth. Build a wall. That’s what fear does.”

The announcement was widely expected after the 52-year-old champion of women’s rights told TV host Stephen Colbert in January she would be forming an exploratory committee.

In an election cycle where Democratic candidates are tilting heavily to the left, Gillibrand toutes her vote against the Wall Street bailouts supported by both major parties, pledges to work for universal health care, and pass the so-called Green New Deal, an economic stimulus program aimed at tackling climate change.

Gillibrand joins more than a dozen Democrats already in the race, including Kamala Harris, Beto O’Rourke, Cory Booker and independent Bernie Sanders who ran against Hillary Clinton for the Democratic nomination in 2016. </s> NEW YORK – Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand officially jumped in the 2020 presidential race on Sunday by declaring her Democratic candidacy with a campaign video titled “Brave Wins.”

The New York Democrat launched an exploratory campaign in January, announcing it on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and has spent the past two months traveling to key states.

Toward the end of the two-minute long video released on Sunday, Gillibrand, speaking directly to the camera, announces she’s running for president.

The video ends with an invitation to join Gillibrand at the Trump International Hotel on March 24, where she plans to deliver “her positive, brave vision of restoring America’s moral integrity straight to President Trump’s doorstep,” her campaign said in an announcement accompanying the video.

“Our anthem calls America the home of the brave, but we don’t realize that the lyrics first pose it as a question … It asks, ‘will brave win?’ Well it hasn’t always and it isn’t right now,” Gillibrand says in the video.

“Brave doesn’t pit people against one another. Brave doesn’t put money over lives. Brave doesn’t spread hate, cloud truth, build a wall. That’s what fear does,” Gillibrand says over news footage, including of President Donald Trump.

“We need to remember what it feels like to be brave,” she adds. “We launched ourselves into space and landed on the moon. If we can do that, we can definitely achieve universal health care. We can provide paid family leave for all, end gun violence, pass a Green New Deal, get money out of politics and take back our democracy. None of this is impossible.”

“Americans are brave every day. … And its these brave choices that inspire me to take on the fights others won’t,” Gillibrand says.

Gillibrand, 52, is one of six women seeking the Democratic nomination and one of six senators running for president.

She’ll begin her official campaign with a trip to Michigan, a once solidly blue state that Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton lost to Trump.

Her first week as a declared candidate will include a visit to the early voting states of Iowa and Nevada, and culminate with her speech on March 24 in front of the Trump International Hotel.

Gillibrand — whose first name is pronounced “Keer-sten” — was a former US House representative in a heavily Republican district in New York. She was tapped in 2009 to fill Clinton’s US Senate seat in New York when Clinton was named Secretary of State.

She was re-elected to the Senate in 2018 and rose to national prominence as an outspoken critic of Trump, an advocate for women’s issues, and a forceful proponent of the #MeToo movement — all of which will be central to her 2020 campaign.

In 2017, she was the first senator to call for former Minnesota Democrat Al Franken to resign from the Senate after allegations that he touched women inappropriately.

But earlier this week, Gillibrand faced claims that she mishandled allegations of sexual harassment in her Senate office.

A female Senate staffer for Gillibrand resigned in 2018 after she accused a male senior adviser of sexual harassment and felt the investigation was “poorly” handled. The accused staffer was not fired at the time for the allegations.

Gillibrand defended her office’s handling of the allegations, saying that her office looked into the accusations “immediately and did a professional and thorough investigation.”

Her past conservative record on immigration, guns, and gay marriage is also being scrutinized by the left and attacked by Republicans who seek to paint her as a flip flopper.

Currently, Gillibrand has yet to reach the 1% marker in polls, a Democratic National Committee requirement to be included in the upcoming 2020 debates.
Democratic U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York announces she is running for president in 2020.