Glen Caplin, a spokesman for Ms. Gillibrand, declined to comment. Taking the step of actually retaining new staff — rather than merely conducting interviews or planning out staff recruitment — indicates that Ms. Gillibrand is probably in the very last stages of preparing for the 2020 race. Depending on when she announces her decision, Ms. Gillibrand, 52, could become the second high-profile Democrat to join the race, after Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. Ms. Gillibrand has signaled that she will run as a progressive and has been an especially forceful advocate within the party on matters of gender equality. While she has a high profile in the news media, Ms. Gillibrand is not well known among Democratic voters nationally.

Source: New York Times January 11, 2019 13:24 UTC