Kirsten Gillibrand drops 2020 presidential bid
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand ended her campaign for the presidency on Aug. 28 after failing to meet qualifications for the September presidential debates.
August 28, 2019
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand dropped her bid for the Democratic presidential-nomination on Wednesday and said via Twitter she wants to focus on gaining a Democratic majority in the Senate.
“We have to defeat President Trump, flip the Senate, and elect women up and down the ballot,” Gillibrand said in a video on Twitter.
Today, I am ending my campaign for president.
I am so proud of this team and all we've accomplished. But I think it’s important to know how you can best serve.
To our supporters: Thank you, from the bottom of my heart. Now, let's go beat Donald Trump and win back the Senate. pic.twitter.com/xM5NGfgFGT
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) August 28, 2019
Gillibrand’s campaign focused heavily on issues of women’s rights, including reproductive health care and paid family leave. She said she would appoint federal and Supreme Court judges based on their support for Roe v. Wade.
Gillibrand often touted herself as a candidate who can accomplish the impossible, pointing to her record of winning elections in largely Republican districts in New York.
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Gillibrand failed to qualify for the third round of presidential debates, where a candidate needed to be polling at 2 percent in four DNC-approved polls and receive 130,000 unique campaign donations. Gillibrand was polling at an average of 0.1 percent at the time she ended her campaign, according to Real Clear Politics.