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Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Is Officially Running for President

The senator from New York has a long history of championing LGBTQ causes.

Another Democrat is throwing her hat in the ring for the 2020 presidential election: This time, it's Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, whose documented history of supporting the LGBTQ community has queer voters hopeful.

Sen. Gillibrand, who's represented the Empire State in the Senate since 2009, announced her campaign this Tuesday, January 15. On Twitter, she shared that her campaign team "won’t accept contributions from corporate PACs or federal lobbyists."

"I'm not afraid to take on Trump, special interests or any powerful system—never have been," she tweeted. "Our movement is about lifting voices that have been ignored for too long. That means taking institutional racism and injustice head-on—in our politics, health care, education and economy. Let's show what we can build with determination and optimism, rather than hatred and fear."

She appeared on Tuesday's episode of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert to announce her candidacy.

"You're never going to accomplish [any social progress] if you don't take on the systems of power that make all of that impossible, which is taking on institutional racism," she said. "It's taking on corruption and greed in Washington... And I know that I have the compassion, the courage, and the fearless determination to get that done."

The 52-year-old politician has been a longtime ally to LGBTQ causes. In 2015, she joined other local lawmakers in encouraging the state to honor New York City's historic Stonewall Inn with a national park. She was a main force behind the fight to repeal "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and has been a vocal advocate for survivors of sexual assault.

Drew Angerer/Getty Images

TROY, NY - JANUARY 16: Surrounded by her family, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) announces that she will run for president in 2020 outside the Country View Diner, January 16, 2019 in Troy, New York. Last night on The Late Show, Gillibrand told host Stephen Colbert that she has formed an exploratory committee for her White House run. (Photo by Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Last February, she was an honored speaker at HRC's annual New York gala.

"Sen. Gillibrand is on the front lines of the battle against the Trump-Pence administration's politics of hate, fear, and discrimination," wrote former HRC president Chad Griffin in a statement. "From fighting back against Trump’s transgender military ban to pushing for LGBTQ non-discrimination protections, Sen. Gillibrand stands shoulder to shoulder with the LGBTQ community as a champion of equality."

Gillibrand joins Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, Julián Castro, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Rep. John Delaney, and Richard Ojeda as officially declared 2020 presidential candidates for the Democratic Party.

Other Democrats rumored to be shooting their shot in 2020 include New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker; Sen. Kamala Harris of California; and Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, IN, and an openly gay politician. (Alas, queen Oprah Winfrey hasn't announced her bid yet, but that doesn't mean we're counting her out.)

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