Kirsten Gillibrand burst on to the political scene in 2006. She ran for Congress in a deep-red district in upstate New York, beating four-term Republican incumbent, John Sweeney. She had the backing of former President Bill Clinton. After her successful first run for Congress, Gillibrand won a second term, demonstrating early on that she was a serious fundraiser.

Soon after, she got her big political break. Hillary Clinton left her U.S. Senate seat to become secretary of state, and then-governor David Paterson picked Gillibrand to replace her in 2009. But Gillibrand had baggage. The National Rifle Association (NRA) had given her an A rating, and in the U.S. House of Representatives, she had adopted hard-line positions on immigration — positions unpopular with Democrats statewide. She quickly shifted to the left.   

"I will look for ways to find common ground between upstate and downstate," she said at the time.

Sen. Charles Schumer tried to assure New Yorkers that she would change her views.

"As Kirsten comes to see the cities of the state and the problems on gun violence there, her views will evolve to reflect the whole state," Schumer said at the announcement of her appointment.

The one-time Manhattan attorney started her career logging long hours at the law firm Davis Polk, where she represented Big Tobacco. But Gillibrand was drawn to politics. She grew up in Albany, where her grandmother, Polly Noonan, was a Democratic powerhouse and close confidante of Albany Mayor Erastus Corning.

In the Senate, she put a spotlight on sexual assault in the military and on college campuses, long before the #MeToo movement took hold. She fought for the repeal of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," and was the chief sponsor of the 9/11 health bill, both of which passed with bipartisan support.

Gillibrand also proved she is willing to work with Republicans outside of government, on the softball field, where a bipartisan team of women in Congress face off against women reporters.

"It's the one place in Washington that truly works," she said during a 2015 game.

Washington is not working so well these days. But, perhaps, Gillibrand is hoping she can break through and continue to defy expectations, at first with Democratic voters, and later with Republicans as well.​

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