Gillibrand aims to cement NY votes

WASHINGTON -- In recent weeks, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) appears to have made a gesture to nearly every segment of the Democratic base in New York that she'll need to win a full term next year.

She introduced a bill repealing the federal Defense of Marriage Act and appeared in a video backing gay marriage. Gay and lesbian voters, check.

She held a conference call to demand that President Barack Obama create a plan to withdraw troops from Afghanistan and stick to it. Anti-war groups, check.

She backed a bill favored by Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allow energy-efficient taxis to operate in New York City. Environmentalists and city residents, check check.

And that doesn't include condemning Palestinian violence, honoring the legacies of a pioneer African-American and a ground-breaking female politician and federal grant announcements to local areas.

The flurry of activity coincided with the end of the first quarter of fundraising this year, and analysts say Gillibrand seems to be reaping money and support from the seeds she's sown.

"It's a public performance for an audience who gives money," said New York political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

Gillibrand recently said she raised more than $3 million during the first three months of this year. That's the most she's raised in a quarter, an aide said.

And she's hit her highest approval ratings from New York voters in three recent polls.

Her aides said Gillibrand wasn't doing anything new in recent weeks. "These are things that she has been talking about throughout her time in the Senate," an aide said.

About her high fundraising total, Gillibrand spokesman Glen Caplin said, "The senator is proud to have a strong grassroots campaign of supporters who share her vision."

Gillibrand is seeking a full six-year term in 2012. In November she won the race to serve the last two years of Hillary Rodham Clinton's term.

She's running hard now to scare off competition for next year's primary and general election, experts said.

"You raise as much money as you can as fast as you can to scare everybody away," Sheinkopf said.

No Democrat has signaled a run against her, but GOP consultant Jay Townsend listed a half-dozen potential Republicans mulling a race -- including himself. He lost last year to Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.).

For now, Gillibrand looks hard to beat, many say.

"She is a much stronger political force now than she was before the election, and the money is the icing on the cake," said the Marist Poll's Lee Miringoff.

But Gillibrand has had help.

With so many Democratic Senate seats in play across the country next year, her party's leaders want to nail down her race now, Sheinkopf said.

Schumer sent out a fundraising appeal for her on March 29 and Senate Democratic leaders allowed Gillibrand to take a high-profile role on March 16 in introducing a base-pleasing bill backing gay marriage.

She continues to attract money from interest groups and top Democratic fundraisers.

Many of them backed her last year as she topped the lists of Senate candidates who got the most money from gun-control and "pro-choice" political action committees and individuals in the last election cycle, said the Center for Responsive Politics, which tracks political money.

She also topped or ranked in the top three in contributions from key New York interests: publishing, commercial banks, advertising and attorneys.

The support continues, according to the Sunlight Foundation's list of fundraising events.

In the last two months, fundraisers for Gillibrand were hosted by top Democratic lobbyists. They included David Jones and Jonathan Mantz, both of them national finance directors for Clinton's 2008 presidential race, and Gordon Taylor of Ogilvy Government Relations.