Kirsten Gillibrand

**Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik Gillibrand** (born December 9, 1966) is an American politician and the junior United States Senator from New York since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party and former member of the United States House of Representatives from New York's 20th congressional district.

In January 2019, Gillibrand announced her plans to run for President of the United States in the 2020 election. She made a formal announcement on March 17, 2019. She ended her campaign on August 28, 2019.

## United States Senator (since 2009)

On December 1, 2008, President-elect Barack Obama announced Hillary Clinton, the junior U.S. Senator from New York, as Secretary of State. Clinton was confirmed and resigned her senate seat. The announcement began a two-month search process to fill her empty Senate seat. Under New York law, the governor appoints a replacement. A special election would then be held in November 2010 for the remainder of the full term, which ended in January 2013. Governor David Paterson picked Gillibrand on January 23, 2009.

Gillibrand has moved her political positions and ideology toward a liberal, progressive position since her appointment to the Senate. Gillibrand was an important part of the successful campaign to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell". In March 2011, Gillibrand co-sponsored the PROTECT IP Act, which would restrict access to web sites judged to be infringing copyrights. In 2013, Gillibrand proposed the unsuccessful legislation that would remove sexual assault cases from the military chain of command; the bill was cosponsored by Republican senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz.

In November 2017, Gillibrand made national news when she said that President Bill Clinton should have resigned from office when his affair with Monica Lewinsky was revealed.

## 2020 presidential campaign

In January 2019, Gillibrand announced that she is formally exploring a run for President of the United States in the 2020 election while on _The Late Show with Stephen Colbert_. The next day, Gillibrand announced her candidacy for President. She made it official on March 17, 2019. After failing to qualify for the third debate in September, Gillibrand ended her campaign on August 28, 2019.

## Personal life

Gillibrand was born on December 9, 1966 in Albany, New York. She studied at Dartmouth College and the University of California, Los Angeles. Gillibrand has been married to Jonathan Gillibrand since 2001. They have two children.

## Other websites

- United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand _official U.S. Senate site_
- United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand _official YouTube channel_
- Gillibrand for Senate _official campaign site_
- Gillibrand for Senate _official YouTube channel_
- Campaign contributions made by Kirsten Gillibrand

## Infobox (officeholder)

- **name**: Kirsten Gillibrand
- **image**: Kirsten Gillibrand, official photo, 116th Congress.jpg
- **jr/sr**: Junior Senator
- **state**: New York (state), New York
- **term start**: January 26, 2009
- **alongside**: Chuck Schumer
- **preceded**: Hillary Rodham Clinton
- **state2**: New York
- **district2**: New York's 20th congressional district, 20th
- **term start2**: January 3, 2007
- **term end2**: January 26, 2009
- **preceded2**: John E. Sweeney
- **succeeded2**: Scott Murphy (politician), Scott Murphy
- **party**: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic
- **birth place**: Albany, New York, United States, U.S.
- **birthname**: Kirsten Elizabeth Rutnik
- **nationality**: American
- **alma mater**: Dartmouth College <small>(Bachelor of Arts, B.A.)</small>
University of California, Los Angeles, University of California, Los Angeles School of Law <small>(Juris Doctor, J.D.)</small>
- **occupation**: Attorney at law, Attorney
- **spouse**: Jonathan Gillibrand <small>(m. 2001)</small>
- **children**: Theodore Gillibrand <small>(b. 2003)</small>
Henry Gillibrand <small>(b. 2008)</small>
- **residence**: Brunswick, New York
- **signature**: Kirsten Gillibrand Signature.svg
- **website**: [http://gillibrand.senate.gov/ Senate Website]
[http://www.kirstengillibrand.com/ Campaign Website]