BRUNSWICK, N.Y. — Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand rejected support from an individualized super PAC in her first public comments since joining the 2020 presidential race, staking out a position on campaign finance that’s defining the early stage of the Democratic primary.
The New York Democrat joins a handful of other likely presidential candidates who have made the same commitment, as Democratic activists place increasing importance on how candidates finance their campaigns. Earlier this month, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called on other 2020 candidates to reject super PAC support; Rep. Beto O’Rourke, who’s considering his own presidential run, did the same in his 2018 Texas Senate run. But some candidates are likely to have outside groups backing them in the primary.
Gillibrand, who has addressed questions about financial support from Wall Street throughout her Senate career and said Wednesday that her “values are never for sale,” has already said she would no longer accept corporate PAC or federal lobbying contributions. She has for years had a leadership PAC, Off The Sidelines, that she has used to support female candidates.
“I don’t think we should have individual super PACs, and I don’t want one,” Gillibrand said at a news conference in Troy, N.Y., one day after launching her presidential bid on CBS’ “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” “It’s why we need to take on how things work and restore that power to the people.”
Speaking at a diner near where her campaign headquarters will be, Gillibrand said she has the “fearless determination” to take on President Donald Trump and addressed two potential stumbling blocks for her presidential bid: her demand in 2017 that Minnesota Sen. Al Franken resign after he was accused of of sexual misconduct, and her promise to serve out her current term in the Senate, to which she was just reelected in 2018.
On Franken, Gillibrand said that it was not her “job to stay silent.”
“I couldn’t defend it and I had to do what was right, and if [for] some wealthy individuals that makes them angry, that’s on them,” Gillibrand said, alluding to public complaints by some donors who said they would no longer support her.
“For all the people across America who feel left behind, I’m going to fight for them, and I have a track record,” Gillibrand said. She added: “For those who know me, my first House race was in a 2-to-1 Republican district, and it didn’t matter because I could run on my values.”
Gillibrand also addressed her comments in an October 2018 Senate debate during which she said she would “serve my six-year term,” after being asked whether she would run for president.
“As I said then, I was solely focused on winning our midterms — winning transparency and accountability over this White House — to have some oversight and to continue to serve New Yorkers, but this sense of urgency has only grown in me, and I wanted to talk to my family,” Gillibrand said.
Gillibrand plans to travel to Iowa on Friday, kicking off her debut visit to the first presidential state with stops in Souix City, Des Moines and Cedar Rapids over the weekend.
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