Klobuchar, Gillibrand to stop in Charles City Saturday

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

Two female U.S. senators who are competing for the chance to be president of the United States will make campaign stops in Charles City — almost simultaneously — on Saturday.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, will be at the home of Todd and Ann Prichard, 107 Ferguson St., at 1 p.m. One hour later, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-New York, will make a campaign stop at the office of Jim Davis at 101 South Main St. at 2 p.m.

Klobuchar and Gillibrand will be the fourth and fifth 2020 Democratic presidential nomination candidates to make campaign stops in Charles City. Former Texas congressman Beto O’Rourke stopped here in early May, while former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper and former Maryland U.S. Congressman John Delaney made stops in March.

Klobuchar announced her candidacy in early February. She is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, Minnesota’s affiliate of the Democratic Party, and previously served as Hennepin County attorney, elected in 1998.

She was first elected to the Senate in 2006, becoming Minnesota’s first elected female U.S. aenator. She’s been re-elected twice, in 2012 and 2018.

She is a graduate of Yale and University of Chicago Law School. She was a partner at two law firms in her home state of Minnesota before being elected Hennepin County attorney.

Klobuchar is also scheduled to stop in Decorah and Iowa Falls on Saturday and Boone on Sunday. Incidentally, Saturday will also be Klobuchar’s 59th birthday.

Gillibrand, age 52, officially declared her candidacy for the Democratic nomination on March 17. She has served as the junior senator from New York since 2009, and was a member of the U.S. House from 2007-09. She represented New York’s 20th House District in upstate New York.

Following U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton’s appointment as secretary of state in 2009, Gillibrand was appointed to fill Clinton’s Senate seat.

Gillibrand won a special election to keep the seat, and was re-elected to full terms in 2012 and 2018. Born and raised in upstate New York, Gillibrand graduated from Dartmouth and from UCLA law school.

Gillibrand will also be making stops in Iowa Falls, Mason City and Waterloo on Saturday.

Both senators have been described as “rising stars” in the Democratic Party. They are among more than 20 Democratic candidates seeking the opportunity to face President Donald Trump in the 2020 presidential election.

Recent polling among registered voters shows both senators have much to overcome between now and Feb, 3, 2020, when Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses are scheduled. In most nationwide polls, only about 1% of voters pick either Gillibrand or Klobuchar as their favorites to be the nominee at this time.

Former Vice-President Joe Biden is currently polling as the frontrunner in the crowded field of candidates, with a substantial lead over Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. A second-tier of candidates includes two other female senators, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Kamala Harris of California who — along with O’Rourke and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — are currently polling in the high single digits in most polls.