Who is Kirsten Gillibrand? Senator officially enters 2020 presidential race
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand has officially entered the 2020 race for president.
In a campaign video released Sunday, the New York Democrat said the country needs "a leader who makes big, bold, brave choices."
In January, Gillibrand said in an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” that she was filing the paperwork necessary to launch an exploratory committee, which would enable her to raise money for a White House run.
“I'm going to run as 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 Tuesday.
A visit with @stephenathome is always good for a few laughs. Last night, I shared some news, too. pic.twitter.com/RiTzsyQyEu
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) January 16, 2019
Here are some things to know about Gillibrand:
- Gillibrand was born Dec. 9, 1966, in Albany, New York.
- She attended the Academy of Holy Names, an all-girls Catholic school in Albany, before graduating in 1984 from the Emma Willard School in Troy, New York. She graduated from Dartmouth College magna cum laude in 1988 and earned her law degree from the UCLA School of Law in 1991.
- She worked as an attorney for more than a decade before being elected to represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives. She represented the state's 20th congressional district in the House until 2009.
- After President Barack Obama was elected to office in 2008, he chose former first lady Hillary Clinton, who at the time represent New York in the U.S. Senate, to serve as his secretary of state. Gillibrand was chosen to replace Clinton, The New York Times reported. She went on to win the seat when voters went to the polls in 2010.
- Gillibrand has butted heads with President Donald Trump before over allegations of sexual assault, which Trump has denied. In December 2017, Trump took to social media to call Gillibrand "a total flunky" who "would do anything" for campaign contributions. Gillibrand criticized the president's response, calling it "a sexist smear."
- Gillibrand lives in Brunswick, New York, with her husband of 18 years, Jonathan Gillibrand, and their sons, Theodore, 15 and Henry, 10.
