Friends Reportedly Tell Kirsten Gillibrand She Needs To Drop Out Of Race: ‘She’s Not Going To Make It’
New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, a 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful who has, so far, failed to make any real headway on her path to the Oval Office, has a serious dilemma.
The dilemma is one that no political candidate wants to face — which is that period in time when one’s campaign isn’t going as well as expected and one’s friends and donors politely ask one to gracefully bow out.
Gillibrand is polling so low that she hasn’t yet qualified for the next round of Democratic debates set to be held in September in Houston, Texas. Gillibrand would need to meet both the donor requirement and average polling numbers across select national polls to qualify for the debates, both of which she has failed to meet. The requirements are set by the Democratic National Committee.
Many have weighed in on Gillibrand’s dreadfully low chances of surging forward, including friends, donors, and even some of her staffers, according to the New York Post.
“It would be best if she decided that this was not her time,” one of her longtime fundraisers said. The fundraiser also explained that Gillibrand’s supporters are more than content — and even happy — about her continuing to serve New York in her Senate seat.
“Most people that I talk to are very happy with her as their senator and don’t want her to give up her Senate seat and don’t see any realistic traction for her,” the fundraiser said.
One of her friends, who’s also a supporter, bluntly stated that “she’s not going to make it,” and suggested Gillibrand find a way to gracefully exit the 2020 Democratic field and begin offering support for one of the leading candidates.
A former staffer of Gillibrand’s had a not-so-nice way of suggesting the New York senator doesn’t have a chance at gaining ground.
“I don’t know that anyone even wants to see her on the debate stage. Everyone I have talked to finds her performative and obnoxious,” the former staffer said while suggesting she appears to be too opportunistic. “I think she’ll have to seriously evaluate her campaign and her candidacy if she doesn’t make this debate.”
'Everyone finds her obnoxious': Former Kirsten Gillibrand aides want her to quit presidential bid https://t.co/5uuwhexWlX
— Tammy Bruce (@HeyTammyBruce) August 25, 2019
The struggling candidate began sending out campaign email blasts to supporters, in which she offers t-shirts for a one-dollar donation to her campaign. The shirt normally retails for $30 on her campaign website’s online store.
Obviously, they’re not worried about turning a profit on the shirts, rather, her campaign desperately needs the donor numbers to have a chance at making the third debate.
According to Real Clear Politics, Gillibrand currently polls at 0.6 percent, which is far lower than many relative newcomers like Andrew Yang. According to the New York Post, Gillibrand currently has 115,000 individual donors, which lags behind long-shot candidates like author Marianne Williamson.
