Video: Kirsten Gillibrand Tells Stephen Colbert She's Running For President, Joining Growing List

New York Democratic Senator Kirsten Gillibrand has announced plans to formally enter the 2020 presidential race during an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Tuesday night.

"I'm going to run for president of the United States," Gillibrand told Colbert in a pre-taped interview. The New York senator said she planned to register an exploratory committee later that evening.

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Asked why she is running, Gillibrand, 52, named healthcare as a top concern, telling Colbert: "As a young mom, I'm going to fight for other people's kids as hard as I fight for my own, which is why I believe healthcare is a right and not a privilege."

She also said that she believes "we should have better public schools for our kids because it shouldn't matter what block you grew up on. And I believe that everybody who wants to work hard enough should be able to get whatever job training they need to earn their way into the middle class."

"But you are never going to accomplish any of these things if you don't take on the systems of power that make all of that impossible; which is taking on institutional racism, it's taking on the corruption and greed in Washington, taking on the special interests that write legislation in the dead of night," Gillibrand said. "And I know that I have the compassion, the courage and the fearless determination to get that done."

By registering an exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission, Gillibrand will be able to start raising money before officially launching her presidential bid.

In a campaign video released shortly after Gillibrand's plans to run were announced, the New York senator touts her efforts to promote transparency in government, fight for gender parity and healthcare measures, including the 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. She also takes a jab at President Donald Trump, playing footage from an interview in which she says she "is not afraid of him" and his "nasty language and name calling."

The New York Democrat, who has been an outspoken supporter of the #MeToo movement and a fierce critic of Trump, was appointed to the Senate in 2009, succeeding Hillary Clinton after she became secretary of state. Prior to that, she had served one term in the House representing the area of Albany.

Poised to run in 2020, Gillibrand is expected to enter a crowded field. A number of high-profile Democrats have already announced plans to run in the 2020 election, with many others expected to join the race.

Among those who have already announced plans to run are Democratic Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, who announced that she was forming an exploratory committee last month; Democratic Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, who made history as the first Samoan-American and first Hindu candidate elected to Congress; and Julián Castro, the former San Antonio mayor who has also previously served as Housing and Urban Development Secretary under the Obama administration.

Others have hinted that they could soon announce presidential bids, with former Vice President Joe Biden, California Senator Kamala Harris, former Texas Representative Beto O'Rourke and New Jersey Senator Cory Booker floated as strong potential contenders in the 2020 race.

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