Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., has entered the 2020 presidential race.
The announcement to launch a presidential exploratory committee was made during a taping of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” which will air later Tuesday night on CBS. “I’m just curious: Do you have anything you would like to announce?” Colbert asked Gillibrand.
“I’m filing an exploratory committee for president of the United States, tonight,” the senator from New York said to applause.
[Read more: 45 Democrats jostling to challenge Trump in 2020]
TONIGHT: @SenGillibrand stops by @colbertlateshow to announce that she is forming an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States! #LSSC pic.twitter.com/vPUpF1gs8z
— The Late Show (@colbertlateshow) January 15, 2019
“I believe in right versus wrong, and wrong wins when we stay on the sidelines,” Gillibrand told supporters in an email Tuesday evening. “That’s why I’m preparing to run for president of the United States, but I can’t do it alone.”
In the email, she said that she wants to build a movement that helps “lift up voices that have been ignored for too long.” Gillibrand also vowed not to take any money from corporate political action committees or federal lobbyists, a move she says should assure Americans that she is fighting for them.
“This will be a different kind of campaign,” said Gillibrand. “I won’t accept a single contribution from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists, so you will always know I’m fighting for you.” In the first few days on the campaign trail, Gillibrand will be visiting the caucus state of Iowa, making multiple stops starting Friday and continuing through the weekend, Politico reported.
For months, Gillibrand, who is a leader in the #MeToo movement, has said she is “definitely thinking” of running and it was an open secret she would enter the fray, but the Colbert interview made it formal.
Gillibrand served as congresswoman for New York’s 20th District from 2007 to 2009. In 2009, she was appointed by Gov. David Paterson to the Senate after Hillary Clinton was appointed secretary of state by former President Barack Obama.
The Democratic field for 2020 is almost certain to be the most crowded in history. Earlier this month, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., launched an exploratory committee, becoming the first big-name Democrat to enter the 2020 field.
Former HUD secretary and ex-mayor of San Antonio, Texas, Julian Castro announced over the weekend that he was launching a bid, and on Friday, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii, also said she is running in 2020.
