Notable: Democratic senator from New York since 2009; member of the Senate Agriculture, Armed Services, and Select Intelligence committees; incoming chair of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee; clerked for U.S. District Court of Appeals; worked as a corporate lawyer in New York City; served as Department of Housing and Urban Development special counsel in Washington, D.C.; served in U.S. Congress as New York rep; started PAC in 2011 to support more women in politics; author of Off the Sidelines (2014)

“Running for president in 2019 made me a more effective senator. I was surprised by the overlap of issues I found in different parts of the country.  When I got back to the Senate, I had much more confidence that the things I was working on to help my constituents were national issues, and that made me more confident to reach across the aisle to find Republican allies.”

“I was very surprised Kamala Harris didn’t get a higher percentage of women’s votes. The lesson is that women, like all voters, look at a lot of issues—not just reproductive rights.” 

“You win or lose elections based on how close you are to what voters are going through. I don’t know if Kamala had time to instill confidence in voters that she would address the economic issues most important to them. I do know that the candidates who were successful were able to talk about those issues.” 

“We need to fully fund Social Security. We should eliminate the cap on income and tax every dollar.”

“People would be surprised by how bipartisan the Senate is. I spend a lot of time talking to my Republican colleagues, whether having dinner or going to Bible study. This has resulted in bipartisan bills addressing issues from cryptocurrency and blockchain to finance reform to addressing sexual assault in the military.” 

“My happiest day in the Senate was in December of 2010. I’d spent my first year and a half as a junior senator trying to educate my colleagues that 9/11 first responders were from all over the country, so caring for them was not just a New York issue. Having legislation to protect those responders finally pass, unanimously, was a moment of unbelievable joy.”  

“Fighting to remove prosecutions of sex crimes in the military from the chain of command taught me to listen carefully to my colleagues’ concerns. I learned it could take several years to gather data to effectively address counterarguments.” 

“The law I helped pass in 2012 to require members of Congress to report every stock transaction has not proven effective, which is why we need a new law. Data show one in three members of Congress trading stocks and only one in seven reporting. Meanwhile, members of Congress’ portfolios are performing significantly better than the S&P 500. I don’t think members of Congress are that much smarter than the S&P 500.” 

“I look forward to campaigning across the country for Democratic Senate candidates in 2026, using the same strategies that proved successful in  New York battleground districts we won in 2024.”