Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, D-NY, exits the presidential race having never quite gotten her campaign into gear, with no signature moments to speak of and not even a fleeting moment of contention in the polls.

Gillibrand was a candidate without much of a constituency. In the mid-2000’s she won House elections in a conservative district as part of the “Blue Dog Democrats,” a moderate to conservative coalition of House Democrats.

Standing among progressive moment originals Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, Gillibrand seemed more like a desperate hitchhiker than an authentic progressive.

Without a constituency, a unique platform or much in the way of charisma or rhetorical skill, Gillibrand was a candidate adrift.

Struggling at zero to one percent for most of the summer, Gillibrand’s campaign will not be missed by many. At the next debate, it’s hard to imagine viewers pounding their sofas in frustration, cursing the fickle winds of politics for a want of Kirsten Gillibrand.

Once a noted proponent of gun rights and fiscal responsibility, Gillibrand pivoted to a more left-wing platform during her Senate tenure, veering further in this direction during her run for president.

Now, Gillibrand is in the unenviable position of making bigger headlines in defeat than she ever did during her campaign.

Michael Furnari is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. His column appears bi-weekly. He can be reached at mpfurnar@syr.edu. 

Published on August 28, 2019 at 10:47 pm