DES MOINES, Iowa -- Unlike some of her potential rivals, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand will be starting from scratch in early-voting Iowa when she makes her first visit as a 2020 Democratic presidential prospect this weekend.
Gillibrand, who announced her intentions to run on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" on Tuesday, is wasting little time getting to the state where the 2020 caucuses launch the Democratic presidential selection process. Still, activists who have already been lavished with attention from other potential candidates say Gillibrand is a virtual unknown to them, especially compared with some of her Senate colleagues.
"I know hardly anything about her," said Sioux City resident Tim Bottaro, among the western Iowa Democrats who expected to meet her at a private home gathering with other activists Friday afternoon.
She plans a variety of appearances across the state this weekend, including coffee-shop talks in Sioux City and Ames, a brew pub meeting and speaking slot at the Women's March in the capital, Des Moines, as well as smaller-group introductions in small-town Boone and private meetings with influential Democrats along the way.
Gillibrand's Iowa trip is the beginning of her journey to introduce herself to more Americans outside New York, which she has represented in Washington since 2006, first as a congresswoman and then as a senator, when she replaced Hillary Clinton in 2009. She has distinguished herself in the nation's capital with her outspoken opposition to President Donald Trump and her forceful advocacy for victims of sexual assault and harassment.
Unlike several of the more than a dozen Democrats who have signaled an interest in running, Gillibrand did not visit Iowa in 2018, when Iowa Democrats picked up seats in the U.S. House and the state Legislature in the November midterm elections.
New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker, for instance, wowed hundreds of party activists at the Iowa Democratic Party's annual fall fundraising banquet in October. Likewise, California Sen. Kamala Harris lit up a crowd in Iowa City and met with influential female candidates and activists in suburban Des Moines.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren beat a path to the state quickly this month after announcing the formation of an exploratory committee Dec. 31. Gillibrand's announcement and quickly planned Iowa trip followed what influential Iowa Democrats agreed was a productive trip for Warren, who drew hundreds to events in western and central Iowa.
And Gillibrand may also have to contend with Iowa's traditionally tricky winter weather this weekend. A snowstorm was scheduled to hit western Iowa, where her tour begins, just as she was set to arrive in the state.
By bypassing Iowa last year, Gillibrand, who was seeking re-election in New York, allowed some Iowans to form early impressions of would-be rivals. Booker, for instance, struck Story County Democrat Cindy Paschen as sensitive to the #MeToo movement's fury over sexual misconduct -- an issue Gillibrand, in particular, has championed.
"Cory Booker and I had a very interesting #MeToo conversation," Paschen said. "That's one thing that really struck me about him, that he was taking that message very seriously."
Paschen said some Democrats in her political circle in the liberal-leaning college city of Ames are angry that Gillibrand was the Senate's first public advocate for Minnesota Democrat Al Franken to resign. Franken resigned his seat in December 2017 after allegations by women that he had groped them.
Gillibrand's role in Franken's departure has resurfaced as she takes her nascent steps as a presidential prospect, though Paschen says it was the right thing to do. "What he did was not as bad as what a lot of men have done," Paschen said. "But I totally support her for calling him out."
National on 01/19/2019