Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand is not interested in leading the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee during the next election cycle, according to an aide.
“She is not seeking to be DSCC chair,” Gillibrand’s spokesman Glen Caplin told Politico on Thursday.
Gillibrand, a rising star in the party who has recently raised her profile with a new memoir, was thought to be a top pick for the slot currently held by Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet. The post will be crucial for Democrats in 2016, when a more favorable electoral map might afford an opportunity to take back the Senate from Republicans.
But Gillibrand might have other priorities — including getting out on the campaign trail in 2016 for Hillary Clinton, whom Gillibrand has said she will support for the presidency.
Leading the DSCC also might look less appealing after the Republican rout of Democrats on Tuesday. However, the post can be an important political launching pad, especially when a senator leads her party to victory.
Some Republicans, for their part, already have begun jockeying to lead the NRSC, formerly the National Republican Senatorial Committee, in 2016, including Sens. Roger Wicker and Dean Heller, according to reports.
