Senator Kirsten Gillibrand: Hillary Clinton should run in 2016

GlobalPost

New York Senator Kristen Gillibrand said that she will be "one of the first" to ask Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to run for president in 2016, in an interview with BuzzFeed on Wednesday. 

"I think she would be incredibly well-poised to be our next Democratic president," said Sen. Gillibrand, who replaced Clinton in New York's Senate. "I think she's extremely well prepared. Her experience as Secretary of State has not only elevated her stature and experience, but she's proven she's someone who can get things done and I think she'd be an outstanding candidate." 

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Gillibrand is not the only one urging Clinton to consider a bid in 2016. Ed Koch, the former mayor of New York City, has also been fighting to get Clinton in the ring for the next election, the Washington Post reported, and many predict she would be the race's frontrunner. 

Despite the pressure from supporters, Clinton has said that she does not want to run for president or serve in elected office in any capacity after her run as Secretary of State, according to the Post. 

"After 20 years, and it will be 20 years, of being on the high wire of American politics and all of the challenges that come with that, it would probably be a good idea to just find out how tired I am," Clinton told her staff at State Department in January, Slate reported.  

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“Whenever asked, the Secretary has been crystal clear about what she will and won't be doing after her tenure here at State ends,” Clinton spokesman Phillippe Reines told the Washington Post.

Some speculate that Gillibrand's cheerleading for Hillary Clinton is just a way for the senator to deflect speculation about her own 2016 plans, according to the Post. 

Yet Sen. Gillibrand said that even if Clinton did end up serving as president, she doesn't see herself taking a position in a Hillary Clinton administration, The Hill reported

"I hope to be serving New York State and the people of New York State in the Senate," Gillibrand said. "It's an important opportunity for public service to really have an impact on the lives of regular people, and I feel very privileged that I have the chance to be part of these debates and to move an agenda forward to help real New Yorkers." 

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