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Gillibrand Finds It Concerning Her Party's Top 2020 Candidates Are White Men

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a rumored presidential candidate herself, says the Democratic Party's current 2020 frontrunners don't reflect the country's diversity.
New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand finds it concerning that the Democratic Party's slate of top contenders to unseat President Donald Trump in 2020 currently consists entirely of white men.

Last week, a CNN poll showed former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, and Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke securing the highest percentages of support from their party, pushing other rumored female candidates like Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, California Senator Kamala Harris, and Gillibrand herself farther down the list.

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That's a problem, Gillibrand says.

When, in a Sunday interview on the network, CNN host Van Jones asked Gillibrand if she finds it worrisome, "the top three being white guys," Gillibrand said "yes."

“I aspire for our country to recognize the beauty of our diversity at some point in the future, and I hope someday we have a woman president," she told Jones.

"I love the fact that Barack Obama was our president for eight years," she continued. "I hope more people of color not only aspire [but] win the presidency, because that’s what makes America so extraordinary, that we are all of that, we are everything, and I think a more inclusive America is a stronger America."

Gillibrand's comments also arrive on the heels of reports that Biden is considering the possibility of running on the same ticket as O'Rourke, with the 46-year-old in the vice presidential spot as a means to soothe concerns over Biden's age. Neither has committed to a presidential run, yet: Biden, according to the Associated Press, remains concerned that his age is his "biggest hurdle" to the presidency, and O'Rourke has only "made a decision not to rule anything out."

Sanders, meanwhile, is reportedly readying a campaign that will capitalize on the forward momentum of his 2016 bid.

“This time, he starts off as a front-runner, or one of the front-runners,” John Weaver, Sanders' former campaign manager, told the AP earlier this month. “It’ll be a much bigger campaign if he runs again, in terms of the size of the operation.”

For her part, Gillibrand, who appears in the 11th slot on CNN's list, polling at just 1 percent, continues to only hint at a possible 2020 run.

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In her Sunday CNN interview, she told Jones she's "definitely thinking about it, of course," and that she'll be discussing the possibility with her family over the holidays.

"I will make a decision soon," she said.